광복절 맞아 독립운동가 283명 새로 포상

283 Independence Activists Are Newly Honoured for Liberation Day

Part of the August 15, 2026 daily edition

국가보훈부는 제81주년 광복절을 맞아 독립운동가 283명을 새로 포상한다고 8월 13일 밝혔습니다. 훈격별로는 건국훈장 65명, 건국포장 29명, 대통령표창 189명이며, 건국훈장 가운데 애국장은 19명, 애족장은 46명입니다. 이번 포상까지 정부 수립 이후 독립유공자 포상자는 모두 1만 9059명으로 늘었습니다. 활동 분야별로는 3·1운동 계열이 124명으로 가장 많고, 국내 항일운동 55명, 중국 방면 활동 35명, 의병활동 22명 순입니다. 보훈부는 ’범죄인명부’와 ‘피살자 명부’ 등 국내외 자료 조사와 현지 조사를 통해 그동안 상대적으로 조명받지 못한 노동자와 여성, 문화예술계 인사의 공적을 발굴했습니다. 이 가운데 김영호·김세철·남기석 선생은 천안 입장면 직산 광산에서 일하던 광부로, 1919년 3월 28일 동료 광부 100여 명과 함께 양대리 헌병주재소로 향해 만세시위를 이끌다가 일본 헌병의 총격으로 현장에서 순국했습니다.

Translation

On August 13 the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs announced that it would newly honour 283 independence activists to mark the 81st Liberation Day. By grade, 65 will receive the Order of Merit for National Foundation — 19 the Patriotic Medal and 46 the Patriotic People's Medal — along with 29 Presidential Medals for National Foundation and 189 Presidential Citations. With this round, the number of people honoured for independence merit since the founding of the government rises to 19,059 in total. By field of activity, the March First Movement accounts for the most at 124, followed by domestic anti-Japanese activity at 55, activity in China at 35 and righteous-army activity at 22. Through surveys of records at home and abroad, including criminal registers and lists of those killed, and through field investigation, the ministry uncovered the independence achievements of workers, women and figures from the arts, who had drawn relatively little attention until now. Among them, Kim Yeong-ho, Kim Se-cheol and Nam Gi-seok were miners at the Jiksan mine in Ipjang-myeon, Cheonan; on 28 March 1919 they led a demonstration with about 100 fellow miners, marching on the Yangdae-ri military police station, and were shot dead on the spot by Japanese military police.

Vocabulary

포상하다동사 (verb)to honour with an award
독립운동가명사 (noun)independence activist (against Japanese colonial rule)
훈격명사 (noun)the grade or class of a decoration
표창명사 (noun)commendation, citation
의병명사 (noun)righteous army — civilian militia raised against invasion
발굴하다동사 (verb)to unearth, dig up (records or forgotten facts)
광부명사 (noun)miner
순국하다동사 (verb)to die for one's country

Grammar points

N을/를 맞아on the occasion of N, to mark N

From 맞다 ('to meet, greet'), this marks an anniversary or date as the reason something is being done now. It always looks forward to a date arriving, so it fits an announcement made shortly before the day itself — as here, three days ahead of Liberation Day.

Example: 설을 맞아 특별 행사를 엽니다.

To mark Seollal, a special event is being held.

N별로by N, broken down per N

The suffix -별 makes a noun into a category of classification, and 로 says the figures are sorted along it: 훈격별로 = 'by grade of decoration'. A sentence containing it is announcing that a total is about to be broken apart, so a list almost always follows.

Example: 나이별로 응답이 달랐습니다.

Responses differed by age.

-다가was ~ing when, and then (interrupted)

Says one action was under way when another cut across it. The interruption is the point: 시위를 이끌다가 총격으로 순국했다 means they were leading the demonstration and were killed in the middle of doing so. Swapping it for -고 ('and then') would make the two events merely consecutive and lose the sense that the first was stopped.

Example: 길을 걷다가 친구를 만났습니다.

I was walking down the street when I ran into a friend.

광복절 맞아 독립운동가 283명 새로 포상

Translation

Vocabulary

Grammar points

N을/를 맞아on the occasion of N, to mark N

N별로by N, broken down per N

-다가was ~ing when, and then (interrupted)

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