His Life & Timeline

From Pyongan Province in 1878 to Seoul in 1938 — most of the years in between spent in America and China.

1878
November 9
Born in Kangso, Pyongan Province
1902
Emigrates to the United States
San Francisco
He came to study. What he found changed his plans.
1904
Settles in Riverside — Pachappa Camp
Riverside, California
He organized orange grove laborers into a self-governing community — the first Korean settlement on the U.S. mainland, recognized by Riverside in 2017 as America’s first Koreatown.
1905
Founds the Mutual Assistance Society
San Francisco
1909
The Korean National Association
The organizational grammar Korean American groups still use today.
1913
May 13
Founds the Young Korean Academy
San Francisco
1919
Minister of the Interior, Provisional Government
Shanghai
1938
March 10
Death
Seoul
He died of illness contracted during repeated imprisonments — seven years before liberation.