Gomez Bill Passes House, Poised to Rename Post Office After Korean American Activist
Washington,
February 1, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a unanimous vote today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Congressman Jimmy Gomez’s (CA-34) legislation to redesignate a local post office in his district after Korean independence activist Dosan Ahn Chang Ho. The bill now moves to the Senate. View Rep. Gomez’s floor speech on the bill HERE. Ahn Chang Ho, also known by his pen name Dosan, was a pivotal early leader of the Korean American community, immigrating to the United States with his wife as the first married couple from Korea, founding early Korean American community groups and laying the groundwork for the last 120 years of Korean American contributions. Ahn Chang Ho was also a celebrated Korean independence activist who helped author the South Korean national anthem, advocated for social reform, served as a leader of the provisional government, and played a key role in the opposition of the Japanese occupation of Korea. He was also the father of trailblazing Korean American actors Phillip Ahn, Philson Ahn and Ralph Ahn, and his daughter, Susan Ahn Cuddy, was the first Asian American woman to join the U.S. Navy and an important leader in the post-WWII National Security community. “As the representative of Koreatown in Los Angeles—home to the largest Korean American population in the United States—I am honored to introduce and pass this legislation that will name our local post office after a Korean American hero, Dosan Ahn Chang Ho. One of the first Korean immigrants to the U.S. and a key figure in the Korean independence movement, Dosan is a pivotal trailblazer in American history,” said Gomez. “The Korean American story is the American story, and I’m fighting to ensure this community receives the recognition and support they deserve.” In the 2003-2004 congressional session, Congress unanimously voted to designate the previous post office in Koreatown as the Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Post Office, which was a landmark in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, in early 2022, the lease on the building expired with no option for USPS to renew, thus ending the building designation. The local Korean American community has been united in making the redesignation of the new postal facility a priority. Now that a new USPS facility has been opened in the heart of Koreatown, Gomez is again seeking to designate the facility as the Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Post Office. ### |
