S. Korea finds descendants of 6 Hawaii-based independence fighters

South Korea has identified descendants of six independence activists who supported the nation's fight against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule from Hawaii, the veterans affairs ministry said Monday.

The identification was an outcome of the project that the ministry launched in December to locate descendants of the activists, who operated in the U.S. territory, and properly honor them with state benefits, according to officials.

Among the four descendants were George Blair McCun, the grandson of George S. McCune, an American who won the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1963 for his contribution to the Koreans' movement against Japan's colonization.

Elsa Carl, great-granddaughter of Dora Moon, was also on the list. Moon participated in the first organization of Korean women in Hawaii in 1913. Her daughter, Whila Chung, also raised funds to support the independence movements with other Korean women.

The ministry was able to find those descendants by researching old documents and newspaper articles and meeting related officials in Hawaii.

"The identification of the descendants carries significant meaning, given that it sheds new light on Hawaii-based independence fighters who financially supported their country's independence and the activities of its provisional government," a ministry official said.

South Korea has conferred merits to the activists from 1963 to 2022 but could not deliver them to the descendants as their whereabouts remained unknown.

The ministry plans to deliver the medals to the surviving family members on Liberation Day that falls on Aug. 15.