[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 7049]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     DOSAN AHN CHANG HO POST OFFICE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1822 would designate that a United 
States Post Office in the Koreatown section of my district would be 
renamed the ``Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Post Office.''
  Los Angeles is the home to the largest Korean American population in 
the country. In fact, more people of Korean heritage live and work in 
Los Angeles than any place outside of Korea. LA's Koreatown 
neighborhood is the epicenter of that community, and the economic and 
cultural wealth of this area are testaments to the achievements of 
Korean Americans.
  It is fitting to mark these achievements by naming this post office 
after a man who is possibly the most celebrated Korean American of them 
all. Ahn Chang Ho, often known by the name of Dosan or Iron Mountain, 
is credited by many as being the spiritual father of modern, 
independent and democratic Korea. His vision is what guides the Korean 
people to this day, first to free themselves from foreign occupation 
and now to unite Koreans in one unified, peaceful, and democratic 
nation.
  Today, Korean Americans honor Dosan Ahn Chang Ho for his 
contributions to the Korean nation, but all Americans can take pride in 
the fact that much of Dosan's vision of Korean democracy was formed by 
his encounters with American democracy.
  Ahn Chang Ho came to the United States in 1902 and stayed more than a 
decade. During this time, he worked tirelessly to unite the Korean 
community, founding schools and cultural organizations and helping to 
improve living and working conditions for his fellow Korean Americans; 
and along the way, he emerged as the spiritual leader of the Korean 
independence movement.
  Dosan was not the only advocate for Korean independence at that time, 
but Dosan's values and approach were what set him apart. He was 
concerned not just with the means of achieving independence, but in 
educating Koreans in democratic governance and civic virtue, to ensure 
that independence would endure.
  I am proud that I sponsored this bill on behalf of the Korean 
American community in my district. Dosan Ahn Chang Ho is not only a 
symbol of Korean success in America. He is also a symbol of the shared 
experience and shared democratic values of all Koreans and all 
Americans.

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