Day 334: Jaisohn Memorial House, Media, Pennsylvania
📌APIA Every Day (334) - For 25 years, from 1925 to 1951, the Jaisohn Memorial House in Media, Pennsylvania served as the residence of Dr. Philip Jaisohn (Seo Jae-Pil) and his family. A key revolutionary advocate for Korea’s independence, Dr. Jaisohn was the first Korean American to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1890. From his home in Media, he practiced medicine and worked to raise awareness of Korea's struggle for freedom against Japanese colonial rule.
Born in 1864 in Kanae Village, South Korea, Philip Jaisohn received an extensive education and was one of the youngest people in the country to pass the Civil Service Examinations at age 18. In 1884, at the age of 21, he took part in a failed coup attempting to modernize Korea’s government. Forced to flee to Japan and later to the United States as a political refugee, Jaisohn arrived in America in 1885. Soon after, Jaisohn enrolled at the Hillman Academy in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and later at George Washington University in D.C., where he became the first Korean to obtain an American medical degree in 1892. Two years later, he married Muriel Armstrong, marking the first recorded interracial union between a Korean and white American.
In 1896, Dr. Jaisohn journeyed to Korea and initiated a series of democratic reforms, founding the first Hangul (Korean script) newspaper and the Korean Independence Club. Returning to the U.S. in 1898, he later established stationery stores in Wilkes-Barre and Philadelphia, using the profits to support Korea’s independence movement. Dr. Jaisohn remained politically engaged in the States, organizing the First Korean Congress conference in Philadelphia and founding influential organizations such as the Korean Information Bureau, League of Friends of Korea, and the Korean Review Journal. After settling in his Media home in 1925, he returned to medicine following a nearly 30-year hiatus. In 1936, he opened a general practice clinic in Chester and continued publishing scientific articles in both English and Korean.
Dr. Jaisohn passed away in 1951 at the age of 87. His ashes were repatriated to Korea in 1994 where they were buried at the Korean National Cemetery. After the passing of his daughter Muriel, the Jaisohn Memorial House was donated to the city. Following extensive restorations, the Philip Jaisohn Memorial Foundation opened the home to the public in 1990. Today, the house operates as a museum, showcasing exhibits that honor Dr. Jaisohn’s accomplishments and his vision for a free and democratic Korea.
Written by Avneet Dhaliwal
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WHYY: Jaisohn Memorial House in Media celebrates Korean revolutionary
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