Park Yong-man (August 26, 1881 – October 16, 1928) was a Korean independence activist and military leader during the Japanese colonial period. In 1909, he established the Young Korean Military School in Nebraska, USA, to train armed independence forces. In 1914, he founded the Korean National Military Corps in Hawaii to continue military training for independence fighters. He worked closely with Syngman Rhee in leading the Korean immigrant community’s independence movement in Hawaii but eventually clashed with Rhee over the methods of armed struggle.
After the March 1st Movement in 1919, Park remained committed to preparing for military action in the independence movement and participated in the founding of the Korean Independence Army in Jilin, China. In the 1920s, he focused on establishing bases for the independence movement in Beijing, China. However, in 1928, while in Tianjin to raise funds for the independence movement, he was assassinated by members of the Righteous Army after refusing to give them money.
In recognition of his contributions to the independence movement, the South Korean government awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Independence Medal) in 1962 and later the Presidential Medal of the Order of Merit in 1995.
Translation of Li Bai’s (Li Taibai’s) *”Jìng Yè Sī”* (*”Quiet Night Thoughts”*):
Quiet Night Thoughts
Before my bed, the bright moonlight
I wonder if it’s frost on the ground.
I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon,
And lower it, thinking of my hometown.
