Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed Congressman Jimmy Gomez’s (CA-34) legislation to redesignate a local post office in his district after famed Korean independence activist Dosan Ahn Chang Ho. 

The bill passed the House of Representatives unanimously in January of this year and now heads to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law. 

“As the representative for LA’s Koreatown—home to the largest Korean American population in the United States—I’m thrilled we are making strides to honor the contributions of Korean American leaders and activists like Dosan Ahn Chang Ho by naming this community landmark after him,” said Gomez. “The Senate has passed my legislation to honor Dosan, and I look forward to the president signing this bill into law. Dosan’s story embodies the stories of millions of immigrants in America, and I am grateful that my Senate colleagues from both sides of the aisle granted the Korean American community the recognition they deserve.”

Background: 

Ahn Chang Ho, also known by his pen name Dosan, was a pivotal early leader of the Korean American community, emigrating 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. 

Dosan 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 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. 

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 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. 

Gomez’s bill to designate the Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Post Office in Los Angeles’ Koreatown passed the U.S. House unanimously on January 31, 2024. Now that it has passed the Senate, the bill will head to the president’s desk to be officially signed into law. 

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