Meritorious Service Record

In 1919, while serving as principal of Youngmyung School, William A. Linton supported preparations for independence protests and contributed articles to foreign newspapers about Korea’s independence movement. In 1936, he refused to comply with Japan’s forced Shinto shrine worship policy and was subsequently expelled from Korea by Japanese authorities.
Linton arrived in Korea in June 1912 as a Southern Presbyterian missionary after graduating from Georgia Institute of Technology. By 1919, he was serving as principal of Youngmyung School in Guam-ri, Gaejeong-myeon, Okgu-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
On March 5, 1919, Japanese police discovered that Youngmyung School had produced Taegeukgi flags and copies of the Korean Declaration of Independence. They raided Linton’s home, the school, the church, and faculty residences. During the raid, they found over 2,000 copies of the Korean Declaration of Independence, which had been distributed from Seoul. Japanese authorities suspected that Linton and two other foreign teachers, Blue and Harrison, had instigated the March 5th independence protest in Gunsan.
Later in 1919, Linton attended the Christian Laity Conference. In May of that year, he published an article titled "How Koreans Pursue Freedom" in an English-language newspaper, vividly describing the March 1st Movement and Korea’s independence efforts, advocating for Korean independence to the international community.
While serving as principal of Shinheung School in Jeonju, Linton refused to comply with Japan’s 1936 policy of forcing Shinto shrine worship on Korean Christians. As a result, Shinheung School was forcibly closed, and Linton was expelled from Korea under Japan’s missionary deportation order.
After Korea’s liberation in 1945, Linton returned to Korea, resumed missionary work in Jeollabuk-do, and helped restore Shinheung School as its principal. In 1956, he founded Daejeon University (originally Soongjun College, Daejeon Campus) and became its first president.
Due to illness, he returned to the United States, where he passed away on October 13, 1960.
In 2010, the South Korean government posthumously awarded William A. Linton the Order of Merit for National Foundation (National Medal) in recognition of his contributions to Korea’s independence.