Supplier of the Ahn Gyu-hong volunteer unit as quartermaster and grain officer
| Life | 1871 ~ 1934 |
| Era | 일제강점기 |
| Clan | 진원 박씨 |
Park Je-hyeon (朴濟鉉, 1871-1934) was from Beophwa village, Mundeok-myeon, Boseong, South Jeolla, a 24th-generation member of the Jangjung branch of the Jinwon Park, son of Park Jung-gyu. His early name was Park Jeong-hyeon, courtesy name Yunjang and pen name Chunpa; the Jinwon Park genealogy is said to record him as born in 1872. Namu Wiki gives his death as 1934, while a 2017 report on the registration of his house gives 1909, so sources differ.
He is said to have been an officer in charge of funds when the Jinwon Park genealogy was reprinted at Daewonsa temple in Boseong in 1896, and after Ahn Gyu-hong was chosen as volunteer leader in February 1908 he supplied materiel to over 450 volunteers as quartermaster and grain officer. He is said to have taken part in battles in February and August of that year and March of the next, contributing to victories.
Namu Wiki writes that his mother was Ahn Gyu-hong's paternal aunt, making them cousins, and that Ahn worked as a hired hand in Park's household from about ten, with Park nominally the master. It is a rare case of a hired-hand-turned-volunteer leader and his master both being recognized as independence merit holders. Park received a presidential citation in 1987 and the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Patriotism Medal, in 1990. The house where they lived in Beophwa village was registered in December 2017 as National Registered Cultural Heritage, the Boseong Ahn Gyu-hong and Park Je-hyeon House.
Ahn Gyu-hong raised his force at Boseong in February 1908 and led victories such as Pacheong (Feb 1908), Jinsan (Aug 1908) and Wonbong (Mar 1909), and the Japanese side is said to have rated his unit among the strongest volunteer forces. Park Je-hyeon, as quartermaster and grain officer, supplied what over 450 volunteers needed to eat and use.
Ahn was arrested in 1909-1910, died as a martyr at Daegu prison on 22 June 1910 and was awarded the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal, in 1963.
Park Je-hyeon was awarded a presidential citation in 1987 and the Patriotism Medal in 1990. The house in Beophwa village where the two lived was registered as National Registered Cultural Heritage on 5 December 2017, at 113-1 Beophwa-gil, Mundeok-myeon, Boseong, and is described as the only place where a hired hand and his master were decorated together.
Namu Wiki lists his great-grandson Park Hyeong-dae as a member of the South Jeolla provincial council, but as personal information about a living person only the name is given here.
When the Jinwon Park genealogy was reprinted at Daewonsa in Boseong in 1896, he is said to have been the officer in charge of accounts, which shows his standing within the clan.
The Boseong Ahn Gyu-hong and Park Je-hyeon House on Beophwa-gil, Mundeok-myeon (main house 144 sq m, outer quarters 85 sq m), remains as National Registered Cultural Heritage. His tomb was not confirmed.