Ahn Chang-ho

Ahn Changho, sometimes An Chang-ho was a Korean independence activist and one of the early leaders of the Korean-American immigrant community in the United States. He is also referred to by his pen name Dosan. A protestant social activist, he established the Shinminhoe when he returned to Korea from the US in 1907. It was the most important organization to fight the Japanese occupation of Korea. He established the Young Korean Academy in San Francisco in 1913 and was a key member in the founding of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai in 1919. Ahn is one of two men believed to have written the lyrics of the Aegukga, the South Korean national anthem. Besides his work for the Independence Movement, Dosan wanted to reform the Korean people's character and the entire social system of Korea. Educational reform and modernizing schools were two key efforts of Dosan. He was the father of actors Ralph and Philip Ahn, founder of the Chinese restaurant Moongate Soorah Ahn, and US Navy aerial gunnery officer Susan Ahn Cuddy, who also later worked for the Office of Naval Intelligence, the National Security Agency, the Library of Congress, and the US Department of Defense.