The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs is publicly recruiting youth participants until the 15th for a program to visit independence movement heritage sites in the U.S. West Coast, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, the ministry said Tuesday.
The recruitment targets 100 young people aged 19 to 34. For veterans, the age limit is extended by their period of military service, up to a maximum of 36 months.
The recruitment includes 88 general participants, 10 members of patriots' and veterans' families, and two promotion contributors who helped publicize the U.S. West Coast tour recruitment. Applications are accepted through a dedicated website.
General applicants and promotion contributors will be selected through screening, while patriots' and veterans' family members will be chosen by lottery. Participants will receive support for airfare, lodging, and meals, excluding the participation fee and personal expenses. Selection results will be announced on June 8.
During the overseas heritage tour from August 21 to 28 this year, participants visiting San Francisco will tour sites including the location where Jang In-hwan and Jeon Myeong-un carried out the assassination of pro-Japanese diplomat Durham Stevens, and the former site of the Gongnip Association headquarters.
Participants will also visit the Reedley and Dinuba areas, which funded the independence movement including the Shanghai Provisional Government in China, to see monuments to patriotic martyrs and the site where the first anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement was held. In Los Angeles, they will experience the independence spirit of the patriots through sites such as the former residence of Ahn Chang-ho's family and the Heungsadan headquarters.
"This tour will be a precious opportunity for young people to directly experience the noble footsteps of patriots who devoted themselves solely to the independence of their homeland in a faraway foreign land," Minister Kwon Oh-eul said.
