Song Hye Kyo’s 13-Year Dedication to Independence Activists Continues with Kim Maria Tribute

Actress Song Hye Kyo continues her 13-year commitment to honoring independence activists, focusing on female independence fighter Kim Maria this year. On Friday, ahead of Patriots’ Day (November 17), Song Hye Kyo and Professor Seo Kyung Duk of Sungshin Women’s University collaborated to produce and release a multilingual video titled “Kim Maria: Revolutionary Heroine of Joseon” to a global audience.  

The 4-minute, 30-second video, conceived by Seo Kyung Duk and funded by Song Hye Kyo, features narration in both Korean and English, allowing it to reach a worldwide audience. The video highlights Kim Maria’s remarkable bravery, including her role in smuggling the February 8 Declaration of Independence into Korea while disguised in a kimono, evading Japanese surveillance, and distributing the document to spark a nationwide movement.

The video explores Kim’s founding of the Korean Patriotic Women’s Association, a secret organization establishing branches in Korea and abroad. This group played a vital role in raising funds for Korea’s Provisional Government, demonstrating Kim Maria’s multifaceted contributions to the independence struggle. Professor Seo Kyung Duk, the mastermind behind the project, shared, “This is our third video in a series aimed at shedding light on the lives of lesser-known female independence activists. We are dedicated to bringing these unsung heroines into the public spotlight, following our previous features on Jeong Jeong Hwa and Yoon Hee Soon.”

Seo Kyung Duk also revealed plans to expand the project, stating that more multilingual videos focusing on other female independence activists are in the works. The aim is to create an ongoing series to continue sharing these important stories in Korea and internationally. The current video has been gaining attention on YouTube and across various social media platforms, emphasizing sharing within major Korean and international student communities worldwide.

In addition to the video project, Song Hye Kyo and Seo Kyung Duk have been working together for over a decade to preserve and share the history of Korea’s independence movement abroad. Over the past 13 years, they have donated Korean-language guides, Hangul signage, and bas-reliefs of independence activists to 37 historical sites related to Korea’s fight for independence.