Soh Jaipil, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Soh Jaipil

noted champion for Korea's independence, journalist

Date of Birth: 07-Jan-1864

Place of Birth: Boseong County, South Jeolla Province, South Korea

Date of Death: 05-Jan-1951

Profession: physician, politician, human rights activist, journalist, philosopher, autobiographer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Capricorn

Soh Jaipil (January 7, 1864 – January 5, 1951), also known as Philip Jaisohn, was a Korean-American political activist and physician who was a noted champion of the Korean independence movement, the first Korean naturalized citizen of the United States, and founded Tongnip Sinmun, the first Korean newspaper in Hangul.Soh was one of the organizers of the failed Gapsin Coup in 1884 and convicted for treason, seeking refuge in the United States where he became a citizen and earned a medical doctorate.
Soh returned to Korea in 1895, becoming a chief advisor of the Joseon government where he advocated for democracy, leaving the Chinese sphere of influence, and numerous civil rights and suffrage movements.
Soh was forced back to the United States in 1898, from where participated in the First Korean Congress and advocated for the March 1st Movement and U.S.
Government support for Korean independence.
Soh became a chief advisor to the United States Army Military Government in Korea after World War II and was elected as an interim representative in South Korea in the 1946 legislative election.
Soh died in 1951 shortly after returning to the United States during the Korean War, and in 1994 his remains were reburied at the National Cemetery of South Korea in Seoul.