Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk delivers a memorial address at a ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of independence fighter Park Sang-jin's death, held Saturday at Park Sang-jin Historical Park in Buk-gu, Ulsan. [Ulsan City]
Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk delivers a memorial address at a ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of independence fighter Park Sang-jin's death, held Saturday at Park Sang-jin Historical Park in Buk-gu, Ulsan. [Ulsan City]

A ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of the death of Park Sang-jin, commander of the Korean Liberation Association, was held Saturday at Park Sang-jin Historical Park in Buk-gu, Ulsan, on the occasion of the 81st Liberation Day.

About 280 people attended, including Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk, Ulsan City Council Speaker Lee Yeong-hae, National Assembly lawmaker Yun Jong-o (Ulsan Buk-gu, Progressive Party), Ulsan Superintendent of Education Jo Yong-sik, Ulsan Buk-gu Cultural Center Director Ryu Gyeong-nyeol, and members of the Ulsan Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Ulsan Metropolitan Archery Association, the Miryang Park clan's Songjeong branch, and the general public.

The ceremony opened with a choral performance of the original composition "Park Sang-jin's Final Journey" by the Ulsan Buk-gu Women's Choir, directed by Kim Jung-cheol, followed by a review of Park's life and memorial addresses. The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans' Ulsan branch also designated Park as its "August Local Patriots and Veterans Figure" to honor his spirit of sacrifice and independence. Acting Ulsan branch chief An Hyeon-suk presented the designation plaque to Park Jung-hun, Park's great-grandson, adding further meaning to the commemoration.

In his memorial address, Cultural Center Director Ryu highlighted three qualities of Park as exemplary: his noble seonbi spirit, his practice of noblesse oblige in donating all his personal wealth to fund the independence movement, and his defiant resolve in turning a Japanese colonial courtroom into a platform for declaring independence. Ryu called for "reestablishing the standing of Park Sang-jin as commander of the Korean Liberation Association — the very root of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea."

Mayor Kim said Park "lived in an era still marked by the remnants of monarchy, yet he cast aside personal wealth and a judgeship to dream of a republic founded on popular sovereignty." Kim pledged to work with the city council to fully support commemorative activities in honor of Park, "so that citizens of Ulsan and all Koreans can proudly carry on his spirit of sacrifice."

Park, a native of Songjeong-dong in Buk-gu, Ulsan, passed the judicial appointment examination at 27 and was assigned to the Pyongyang branch court, but refused to take up the post, saying he could not serve as a judge for an enemy nation and sentence his own people. He went on to found the Korean Liberation Association and led the independence movement as its commander before Japanese colonial authorities arrested him. He died at Daegu Prison at 38. The government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation's Independence Medal in 1963 in recognition of his contributions.


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