Baek-ga of Coyote reveals great-grandfather was independence activist: 'I didn't want to ride on his legacy'

Baek-ga, a member of the K-pop group Coyote, has publicly revealed for the first time that she is a descendant of independence activist Jin Hui-chang.

In a video posted Saturday on her YouTube channel, Baek-ga said her maternal great-grandfather was an independence activist — a fact she had kept secret even from her bandmates of more than 20 years.

She recalled that her late mother often told her: "Our family is descended from an independence activist. Wherever you go, never feel inferior — carry that pride in your heart."

Baek-ga said she had long hesitated to speak about it. "The reason I never brought this up was that I was very cautious about mentioning my great-grandfather's name and giving the impression that I was riding on his achievements," she said. "His dedication was too great and too weighty to use as something to boast about."

She described her great-grandfather, Jin Hui-chang, known by his pen name Gyeongnim, as an independence activist who provided fiscal and operational support to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea when it was based in Shanghai. He went into exile there in 1911, following Japan's annexation of Korea the previous year.

"He secured a job as a supervisor at a Shanghai tram company run by a British operator," she said. By day he worked in transportation while secretly arranging safe houses and providing funding for independence fighters who had fled Japanese rule to Shanghai. "He served as a kind of base camp in Shanghai," she said.

Baek-ga also said her great-grandfather was present at the historic founding of the Korean state. "At the Provisional Legislative Assembly, the name 'Republic of Korea' was adopted and a provisional charter establishing a democratic republic was deliberated — and my great-grandfather was part of that historic founding process," she said.

Jin founded the Korean Residents' Association in Shanghai's Korean community in 1920, a self-governing organization for Korean expatriates, and served as a council member while continuing to support its fiscal operations.

Baek-ga said Jin's name also appears in the second volume of "Baekbeom Ilji," the memoir of independence movement leader Kim Gu. "It is written that 'close comrades like Jin Hui-chang helped me without begrudging me even a meal,'" she said.

"What breaks my heart," she added, "is that he devoted himself day and night to supporting the Provisional Government and the independence movement, yet never lived to see liberation — he died in Shanghai in February 1933." The government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Independence Medal, in 1980.

Baek-ga said she decided to come forward now to help descendants of independence activists who are struggling financially. "Before, I was not in a position or had the means to help anyone, but now I am," she said.

She closed with a tribute to those who fought for Korea's independence. "It is because of the sacrifice of countless independence activists and patriots who gave everything for their country's liberation — many without even leaving their names behind — that we are here today," she said. "I offer my deepest respect and gratitude to all the independence activists and patriots who gave everything to restore the light of their homeland."

A caption at the end of the video added: "If there are any descendants of those who served the nation who need help, please feel free to reach out. I will do what I can, however small."