Flight school students receiving military training

Willows Korean Aviation School () was an aviation school meant to train fighter pilots for the

Korean Independence Movement The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which ...

, many of whom were members of the

Korean National Association The Korean National Association (; Hanja: 大韓人國民會), also known as All Korea Korean National Association, was a political organization established on February 1, 1909, to fight Japan's colonial policies and occupation in Korea. It w ...

. It was established on February 20, 1920 in

Glenn County Glenn County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,917. The county seat is Willows. It is located in the Sacramento Valley, in the northern part of the California Central Valley. The ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, by

Korean-Americans Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian Americans ...

and backed by the

Korean Provisional Government The Korean Provisional Government (KPG), formally the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, was a partially recognized Korean government-in-exile based in Shanghai, China, and later in Chongqing, during the period of Japanese co ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. It was disestablished in April 1921. The choice for a Korean Aviation School to be established in California was for multiple reasons including the

March 1st movement The March 1st Movement, also known as the Sam-il (3-1) Movement (Hangul: 삼일 운동; Hanja: 三一運動), was a protest movement by Korean people and students calling for independence from Japan in 1919, and protesting forced assimilation ...

, interest and financial support from the Korean American community, the impact of World War I on aviation for combat and defensive purposes, and Japan's inability to control or influence the school on US soil. The financial support largely came from the first Korean-American millionaire Kim Chong Lim, until his fortune was lost when a disastrous flood in October 1920 destroyed his rice fields. Although the school lasted for a little over a year, it had gained a lot of attentionKoreans Aviation School to Be Seen in Movies (n.d.). Willows Daily Journal and trained many of the pioneers of Korean aviation, including Park Hee-sung, Lee Yong-keun, and

Song Yi-kyun Song Yi-kyun (Hangul: 송이균; Hanja: 宋二均; 1885–1927) was a Korean-American activist in the Korean Independence Movement. Life Song Yi-Kyun was born in 1885 in Pyongyang, Korea. In 1913, he left Pyongyang to San Francisco for work. S ...

. Two of its graduates went on to join the

Republic of Korea Air Force The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ko, 대한민국 공군; RR: ''Daehanminguk Gong-gun''), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the aerial warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of N ...

, which recognizes the Willows Korean Aviation School as its predecessor.

References

Bibliography

* *Miller, B. (2015, July 9). Willows Korean Aviation School Fueled Independence Movement. Retrieved from https://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/30192 * Koreans To Have Aviation Field (1920, June 14) Willows Daily Journal. Retrieved from http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll126/id/5716 *Koreans To Train Aviators here to Fight the Japs (1920, March 1). Willows Daily Journal. Retrieved from http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll126/id/5716 *Koreans Aviation School to Be Seen in Movies (n.d.). Willows Daily Journal. Retrieved from http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p15799coll126/id/5716 {{Authority control Republic of Korea Air Force Aviation schools in the United States 1921 disestablishments in California 1920 establishments in California Educational institutions established in 1920 Korean-American culture in California Educational institutions disestablished in 1921 Militant Korean independence activist organizations

See also

References

Bibliography