Myung Do-seok

Myung Do-seok (明道奭, 1885 – 1954) was a Korean independence activist. He was born in 1885 in Masan City, Jungseong-dong. In 1907, together with Ok Gi-hwan, Gu Seong-jeon, Paeng Sam-jeon and others, he ran the Masan Labor Night School, contributing to women's education among the proletariat and to raising national consciousness. During the March 1st Movement of 1919, he consulted with Lee Yeong-jae and others and launched an uprising at Chusan Park on March 10, 1919. In 1927 he took part in establishing the Masan branch of the Singanhoe, the representative independence movement organization in Korea, and served in key posts of the Masan branch, leading the national movement. In the late period of Japanese rule he joined the secret organization Joseon Geongeon Dongmaeng (Korean Restoration League), and after liberation he served as chairman of the Masan branch of the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence. He died of illness in 1954. His pen name was Heodang (虛堂).

Life

He was born on April 3, 1885 in Masan, South Gyeongsang Province. On March 12, 1919, in order to promote the Masan independence demonstrations, he consulted in advance with Choe Yong-gyu (崔龍奎) and others, decided to carry out the action on March 21, the Masan market day, and provided funds for that day's demonstration. He also had demonstrators march while shouting "Long live independence!" at the front of a Taegukgi and a large banner reading "Korean Independence."

In autumn 1920, he was arrested by Japanese police while meeting in Andong (安東), Fengtian Province (奉天省), China, with an emissary of Park Yong-man (朴容萬), who was conducting anti-Japanese activities in the United States. He was detained for six months and released due to insufficient evidence.