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New York Times honors Korean activists Yu Gwan-sun and Gil Won-ok for Women's History Month

Published: 10 Mar. 2026, 14:04

A police record card of Korean independence activist Yu Gwan-sun [NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF KOREAN HISTORY]

Yu Gwan-sun (1902-1920), a Korean independence activist, and Gil Won-ok (1928-2025), a survivor of Japanese military sexual slavery, were included among 104 historic figures selected for Women’s History Month in March by the New York Times.

Yu was included in a group of eight women categorized as “those who died before their time.” The New York Times described her as “a Korean independence activist who defied Japanese rule” and referred to an article about Yu that it had published in 2018 as part of its Women’s History Month series.

Gil was also included as one of 13 women “who survived and modeled the aftermath of something history recognized.” The newspaper described her as “a crusading survivor of sexual slavery for Japan’s World War II troops” and linked to an obituary published in February last year.

The project was intended to revisit the lives of women whose deaths the newspaper had recorded in recognition of Women’s History Month across generations, The New York Times said.

The newspaper added that the goal was “not to rank” the women or “retrofit them into models of uncomplicated heroes,” but to look back on their lives with the “benefit of distance.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]