Independence activist, one of the 33 national representatives of the March 1st Movement
| Life | 1885 ~ 1941 |
| Era | 근현대 |
| Clan | 함양 박씨 |
Park Dong-wan (1885-1941) was born to a well-off family in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, converted to Protestantism while studying at Baejae Academy, and became a Methodist evangelist and journalist. As one of the 33 national representatives of the March 1st Movement in 1919, he was imprisoned for two years for his role in the independence declaration.
After his release he continued as chief editor of the Christian newspaper Gigyeok Sinbo, helped found the Singan-hoe nationalist coalition in 1927 with Lee Sang-jae and An Jae-hong, and was later sent to Hawaii, where he pastored a Korean congregation on Oahu for twelve years, founded a Korean-language newspaper, and expanded Korean-language schooling for the diaspora community.
He died in Hawaii in 1941; his remains were repatriated and buried at Mangu-ri Cemetery, then moved to Seoul National Cemetery in 1966. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1962.
Patriots' Section, Seoul National Cemetery