The Lee 이 Family
My great-grandfather Alfonso Lee 이건세
left Seoul, Korea with his family and arrived in Mexico in 1905. He was promised a job and citizenship only to find when he arrived in Mexico that the job was backbreaking work in the henequen fields as slaves.
THE LEE FAMILY
When Alfonso Lee finally made his way to Mexico City, he met María 이재순 and they had several children: María Dolores Lee (born in Tampico, Mexico in 1910, who at 19 years of age married José Hahn 한종원), Cecilio Lee 이상봉, Eric Lee, and Luz María Lee.
Alfonso and Maria Lee's daughter, María Dolores Lee, with members of the Lee family and friends.
My great-grandmother Maria, wife of Alfonso Lee 이건세, here with her grandchildren, my father Felipe Hahn Lee and his sister Emma.
Alfonso Lee 이전세 was very active in the Tampico District of the KOREAN ASSOCIATION. In 1922, he becomes Treasurer of the District, in 1923 he is in charge of Legal Affairs, in 1925 he is elected PRESIDENT of the Tampico District, he is Treasurer again in 1926.
Mukgyeong Local Council members lists both my great-grandfather and grandfather as members of the council.
Document above
이건세의 개회는 이순여의 수개와 김익수의 목경 지방회의 문서 가운데 1942년도 회원 명부록에 기입된 42명의 회원명은 다음과 같다.
( 표6 ) 1942년도 묵경 지방회 회원 명부록 및 기타 사항.
1 이순여 Lee Soon-yeo
2 이경재 Lee Kyung-jae
3 문창홍 Moon Changhong
4 이건세 Lee Geon-se (my great-grandfather, father of my grandmother Dolores)
5 한종원 Han Jong-weon (my grandfather, father of my father)
In English, the minutes of the meeting read as follows:
The opening of Lee Geon-se is as follows, among the documents of Lee Soon-yeo and Kim Ik-soo's Mokgyeong Local Council, the names of 42 members entered in the 1942 list of members.
(Table 6) List of members of the Mukgyeong Local Council in 1942 and other matters.
1 Lee Soon-yeo
2 Lee Kyung-jae
3. Moon Changhong
4. Lee Geon-se
5 Han Jongwon
This document is VERY valuable to us because it connects my great-grandfather (click to go to page) and my grandfather, (click to go to page) proving they knew each other and worked together for the Korean community in Mexico and for the liberation of Korea.
REGISTRATION OF KOREAN
RESIDENTS IN JAPAN (...used to mean Mexico)
The document below contains the status of Koreans living in Mexico, in this specific page it is the information of my great-great-grandfather and his children.
The purpose of these documents was to identify the status of the second generation of immigrants. Chapter 253 contains information on the family relationship and addresses of 800 teenagers and children under the age of 16 at the time.
A professor of Political Science at Chonnam National University explains: "When they became adults in the 1930s and 1940s, they paid population tax, medical expenses, diplomatic expenses, and liberation expenses (funds for the independence movement)..."
The specific document shown above is the register of Jeon Sam-bong (in the ship manifest he is listed as Lee Sam-bong).
The document is written in Hanja (Chinese characters) and Hangul.
The father on the register and the ship manifest is Lee Eung-sang (Antonio Hahn Lee), our great-great-grandfather. His wife is on the register, Maria Han (known to my family as Maria Concepcion Hahn Kim). Their children are Jeon Sam-bong (lee Sam-bong), Lee Jae-bong and Lee Jae-sun (my great-grandmother, married to my great-grandfather Lee Geon-se (Alfonso Lee), named a Patriot by the Korean government.
This extract lists the members of the Executive Committee of the Mukyeong Association of Korean Immigrants in Mexico City. It is very important for my family because it sheds further light on the activities of my great-grandfather in the Korean Association, only this time not in Tampico, Tamaulipas but in Mexico City.
It was 1911 that the the Mukgyeong District Council was founded by Korean immigrants in Mexico City. By 1915, there were about 10 members and only 13 in 1916, but the number of Korean members did not exceed 20-30 in the 1910s. In 1915, the executives of the Mukgyeong District Council were:
Chairman - Lee Seong-ro
Vice Chairman - Lee Geon-se (my great-grandfather)
General Secretary - Lee Kyung-jae
Secretary and Treasurer - Lee In-nyeo
Justice - Park Jin-hyung
Relief Worker - Kim Myung-hwa
Diplomacy - Lee Byung-heun
Temple - Um Joo-hwan.
Han Yong-sung and Lee Geun-young were in the capacity of correspondents for Shinhan Min.
In 1917, the executives of the local council were:
Chairman - Choi Chang-sun
Vice Chairman - Lee Kyung-jae
Secretary - Lee In-nyeo
Representative - Kim Nong-hyun.
On October 27 of the same year, Ahn Chang-ho (click on link to learn more about one of the greatest patriots in Korea). He founded Shinminhoe (New Korea Society) 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 (흥사단; 興士團) 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 "Aegukga", the South Korean national anthem.
Ahn Chang-ho arrived in Mukgyeong and was welcomed by Koreans here, and on his way back to the United States, he stopped by this place again to discuss the rent problem between Lee In-nyeo and Seo-on.
Mass demonstration organized in Seoul March 1, 1919 against Japan´s colonization of Korea.
The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea was launched in September 1919 in Shanghai by the provisional government, the Hansung (Seoul) Provisional Government, and the Korean National Assembly of the Russian Maritime Province. The Provisional Government adopted the presidential system and Syng-man Rhee assumed the first presidency.
It also set up Provisional Assembly, a legislative body as well as a judiciary body, launching the first democratic republic government with the three branches in Korean history. Since then, the KPG persistently undertook independence campaigns until the very day Korea restored national independence. It also formed a secret administrative body to support organized independence movement and issued its own newspaper “The Independent” to encourage Korean public to keep on fighting for national independence.
Korea and Mexico Engage in Defense and Patriots and Veterans Affairs Diplomacy
PRESS RELEASE
KOREAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
2021-04-25 23:39:37
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jong Kun attended the Independence Merit Award ceremony as the last schedule of his visit to Latin America.
On the occasion of the Independence Merit Award ceremony on April 23, Vice Minister Choi conveyed his gratitude to the spirit of patriotism of Independence Movement Patriots who devoted themselves in Mexico to the liberation of their home country during the Japanese colonial era. He also expressed the Korean government’s interest and willingness to support overseas Korean people in Mexico.
On this day, Vice Minister Choi delivered government medals and commendations to the descendants of four Independence Movement Patriots who contributed to the liberation of Korea through fund-raising for the independence movement and led the unity of the Korean community in Mexico during the Japanese colonial era:
1) Alfonso Lee Han (National Foundation Medal): Fund-raising for the independence movement, served as President of Mexico City of Korean Kong-Lip Association and Inspector of Mexico City of Korea National Association,
2) Pedro Yu (President’s Commendation): Fund-raising for the independence movement, established Veracruz District of Korea National Association and Korean language school
3) Richardo Lee Che (President’s Commendation): Fund-raising for the independence movement, served as President of Mexico City of Korean Kong-Lip Association
4) Simon Kong Lee (President’s Commendation): Fund-raising for the independence movement, served as President of Executive Committee of Coatzacoalcos District of Korea National Association
In a congratulatory speech, Vice Minister Choi said that the dedication and longing of the Korean ancestors in Mexico for the independence of Korea was the driving force that united us as a whole and ultimately contributed to achieving independence of Korea. He further promised that the Korean government will continue to provide support for the Korean descendants in Mexico.
On the occasion of the ceremony, Vice Minister Choi delivered the Ambassador for Peace Medals to four Mexican veterans* who fought in the Korean War as members of the United States Army : José Villarreal Villarreal, Roberto Sierra Barbosa, Alberto Fernández Almada and Jesus Cantú Salinas.
In his congratulatory speech, Vice Minister Choi introduced the background and merits of four Mexican veterans and commented that Korea has become the world's 10th largest economy today due to the sacrifices of the Mexican veterans in the Korean War, which have been forgotten for the past 70 years. He expressed his deep appreciation for their noble sacrifice and contribution.
Vice Minister Choi also promised that the Korean government will continue its efforts to find more Mexican Korean War veterans and their descendants to honor their contributions.
During the Korean War, more than 100,000 Mexican nationals or Mexican Americans fought in the Korean War as members of the U.S. Army.
Since a ‘Latin Plaza’ lecture in Seoul (June 24, 2020) held by the Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea, the Korean government has conducted a project to find Korean War veterans in Mexico, and confirmed survival of the four veterans who attended the launch ceremony of the Korean War Veterans Association in Mexico.
Jsé Villarreal Villarreal (President): born in 1930, joined the U.S. Army, participated in the Incheon Landing Operation and the Seoul Restoration Operation during the Korean War in 1950
〮 Roberto Sierra Barbosa (Vice President): born in 1930, joined the U.S. Marine, participated in four major battles as a signaller during the Korean War
〮 Alberto Fernández Almada: born in 1930, during the U.S. Military service in Japan, was deployed to Korea immediately after the outbreak of the Korean War and participated in important battles in the Korean War
〮 Jesus Cantú Salinas: joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17, participated in major battles in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953
SOURCES
https://dreamgolive.wordpress.com/2011/10/28/koreans-in-mexico/
Crossing Peninsulas: Early 20th-Century Korean Flexible Nationalisms in the Yucatán Peninsula (Including all sources used for "Crossing Peninsulas: Early 20th-
Century Korean Flexible Nationalisms in the Yucatán Peninsula
KBS News Report on the 103rd Anniversary of the Establishment of the Provisional Government in Korea.
https://bestofkorea.com/guide-to-samiljeol-3-1-korea-independence-movement-day/