Endless search for graves of forgotten independence fighters

At a solemn ceremony held at Incheon International Airport's Terminal 1 on November 15, 2022, the great-great-granddaughter of independence fighter Lee Han-ho (1895-1960) choked back tears as she delivered the final lines of a letter she had written to her ancestor. Until that moment, she had read the letter with a steady cadence, but now, Lee's remains had been returned to Korea after 107 years of being buried overseas.

Lee had journeyed far from his homeland, first moving to China's Jiandao region in 1915 to join Maenghodan, an anti-Japanese independence group. After participating in the March 1 Independence Movement demonstration in 1919, he fled to Russia and then Shanghai to escape Japanese authorities. Eventually, he relocated to Switzerland, where he continued his fight for independence.

Lee passed away in September 1960, 62 years after his exile had brought him back to his ancestral land. As his final resting place was marked in Korea, one person remained in attendance, her emotions running high as she witnessed the long-awaited homecoming of a man who had fought tirelessly for Korea's freedom.