Birthplace of Dr. Jo Byeong-ok

About this place

This is the place where Dr. Yu-seok Jo Byeong-ok was born and raised, an independence activist and politician who devoted his life to the anti-Japanese independence movement, the founding of the Republic of Korea, and the development of democracy. The thatched-roof birthplace, which had been later converted to a tiled-roof house, was restored to its original form as a thatched house consisting of the main wing 15 pyeong and outbuilding 7 pyeong on a 550 pyeong site, based on genealogical verification by the clan. Dr. Jo Byeong-ok founded the Korean Democratic Party after liberation and served as Interior Minister during the Korean War, then as a 3rd and 4th-term Member of the National Assembly. He ran as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in 1960 but died at age 67 on February 15, 1960 from illness at Walter Reed Army Hospital in the United States. The government awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation Independence Medal posthumously on March 1, 1962.