‘Mr. Sunshine’ Hwang Gi-hwan Returns to Homeland After 100 Years

Governor Hwang's Remains Arrive Today at Incheon International Airport
Posthumous Award of Order of Merit for Patriotism and Transport to Daejeon National Cemetery

The remains of patriot Hwang Gi-hwan will return to his homeland after 100 years of martyrdom. Hwang was a diplomat of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea who was active abroad during the Japanese colonial period and passed away on American soil. He is famously known as the real-life model for the protagonist ‘Eugene Choi’ in the drama ‘Mr. Sunshine.’

According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs on the 10th, Hwang’s remains, which departed from New York, USA by air the previous day, will arrive at Incheon International Airport at 9 a.m. that day. Park Min-sik, the head of the Ministry, will personally welcome Hwang’s remains at the Incheon Airport apron and plans to confer the Order of Merit for National Foundation, which the government posthumously awarded to Hwang in 1995.

Also attending the reception of Hwang’s remains are Lee Jong-chan, chairman of the Udang Education and Culture Foundation (grandson of Lee Hoe-young), Kim Mi, chairwoman of the Baekbeom Kim Koo Foundation (granddaughter of Kim Gu), Yoon Joo-kyung, member of the People Power Party (granddaughter of Yun Bong-gil), former lawmaker Kim Eul-dong (granddaughter of General Kim Jwa-jin), and Mrs. An Ki-young (great-granddaughter of An Jung-geun). Afterwards, Hwang’s remains will be transported to the National Daejeon Cemetery, where a repatriation ceremony and burial ceremony will be held consecutively from 2 p.m.

Hwang was born in 1886 in Suncheon, South Pyongan Province. After moving to the United States in 1904, he volunteered for the U.S. military during World War I and fought on the European front. After the war ended, from 1919, he served as a diplomat for the Provisional Government, traveling between France, the United Kingdom, and the United States to promote the legitimacy of Korea’s independence to the international community. Hwang passed away from heart disease on April 17, 1923, in New York, USA, and had been buried at the Mount Olivet Cemetery there.

Hwang’s grave was brought to public attention in 2008 when Pastor Jang Cheol-woo of the New York Korean Church discovered it. Following efforts by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Consulate General in New York, his remains are being repatriated to Korea this year, marking 100 years since his martyrdom. Meanwhile, the Ministry recently completed the registration process of Hwang’s family relations, who had remained ‘unregistered’ due to having no descendants.

The Ministry also selected Hwang, along with other Provisional Government diplomats Lee Hee-kyung and Na Yong-gyun, as ‘Independence Activists of April 2023.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.