Young
Korean
Academy

Portrait of the Heung Sa Dahn movement


The Heung Sa Dahn
Movement is the non-political, voluntary organization founded in 1913 to promote national independence, development, prosperty and peace.


1-28 Dongsung-dong Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-809, Korea
Tel. (02) 743-2511~4 Fax. (02) 743-2515


Dosan(Ahn, Chang-ho, 1878-1938) being regarded as one of the outstanding spiritual and moral leaders of Korea has ever produced at the turn of present century when Korea, as nation, had become so weak and degenerated in every sector of his life that the fate of the country was at the mercy of foreign powers.
Dosan perceived early in his life the urgent need that is moral and spiritual regeneration: as a starting point for rehabilitation of Korean people. His various life activities have singularly been directed toward this noble mission and he had sacrificed everything else, just for the mission. He was a true patriot, an ardent revolutionist and a great educator who was also happily endowed with various talents as for organization and oration.
Dosan advocated the establishment of modern schools, adult education and voluntary organization activities as the means of promoting personal potential ability, national independence and development : he founded an early private modern school in Pyougyang in 1899 : the Korea Association in the U.S.A. in 1902 : and the Young Student Academic Association in Korea, Daesung Secondary school and Tae Guk Publishing House in 1908. Despite these endless efforts to save the country, Korea was occuppied by the Japaness domination in 1910. While he was in exile, he founded the Heung Sa Dahn ( Young Korean Academy ) in 1913 at Los Angles, Calif, U.S.A.

Basic idea of Heung Sa Dahn Movement
If we, a nation with long tradition, are to bring about a developed , democratic society , every one of us should have upright spiritual posture and strong will to reconstruct the country.
Although we are under a constant influence of ever-changing conditions of society-politics, economy, education and culture, we do have reliable ability to improve and create our circumstance. In order to reconstruct our nation, therefore, an honest, progressive, cooperative and courageous people, mindful of their national mission, must practise what they preach and give their willing service to the country. And it is necessary that those conscious and persistent efforts should be made for the education and training of such a group.

This is what the late Ahn, Chang Ho advocated for the salvation of the country. We firmiy believe that it is the true way for the revival of our nation and we pledge ourselves to devote our lives to the Heung Sa Dahn movement whatever our public duties and positions are.

The Purposes
The Purpose of this organization is to lay foundation for the prosperity of our nation by uniting those men and women who shall devote themselves to seeking, acting upon the truth, practising loyalty & courage. they shall pledge each other to cultivate sound character through moral, physical and intellectual disciplines. They shall also promote fraternity and solid unity among themselves.

The Four Fundamental Principles
The following are the four principles upon which the Heung Sa Dahn program of social revolution through moral revolution formulated :
1. Seek the truth.
2. Act upon the truth.
3. Be loyal and trustworthy.
4. Be courageous.
In its constitution, the ideals of Heung Sa Dahn were thus stated.
The Five Essential Teachings
In order to keep the determination of the members constantly alert and firm, the following pledge is adopted as a standard of conduct for each member in his daily life.

1. Let us constantly strive to improve ourselves by seeking the truth, acting on the truth, pract