As many as 200 Korean Americans will gather at Riverside Cemetery in Adams County to honor Hee Byung Park. A mining expert and envoy sent to Colorado by the king of Korea, Park was an activist prior to the last Democratic National Convention held in Denver. He died violently in 1907 while campaigning to free Korea from Japanese occupation. Park was just 37. The exact circumstances of his death are a mystery and, until now, only a number marked his grave.

For 100 years, the only hint of Park's existence lay buried in cemetery records.

A new granite headstone will honor the Korean patriot who is getting recognition both here and in his home country.

"We have 40,000 Koreans in the Colorado area and now we are going to find our roots,'' said Vincent Chung, president of the Korean Society of the Denver Area and publisher of the Korean newspaper, Vox Koreana.

"We don't know how he died. He was killed in some kind of assassination. Somebody took action against him."

For decades, no one in Colorado knew about Park's accomplishments. Then, in 2003, scholars in Korea began researching immigrants to America to celebrate thousands of Koreans who moved to Hawaii to work in the sugar cane fields.

Scholars found records about Park in Korea. He spoke English and worked with Americans when they came to inspect the gold mine where he worked in Korea. Park then helped find Koreans to work in Colorado coal mines.

In 1905, he came to the U.S. himself, first to study mining at Roanoke College in Virginia. After graduating, he returned to Korea for a short time to build a school for miners and to work for the government. He then returned to the U.S. and came to Colorado, working as a leader of the independence movement.

Chung said researchers started combing Denver's oldest cemeteries for records of Park.

"We found his name in the cemetery records, then we found the spot. There was nothing there, just a small number,'' Chung said.

"It's mind-boggling,'' said Miok Fowler, a Korean activist and insurance company owner, who has helped to unearth information and prepare for today's celebration of Park's life. "I went to school here and I never knew about his existence.''

Fowler said a grave marker is important to Korean people. Park will finally get his due with a $3,000 granite stone that will celebrate his contributions in both English and Korean.

"We are very excited because it is the 100 year anniversary (of his death)," Chung said. "We will celebrate the memory of him."

Overdue honor

• What:The Korean Society of Metro Denver will unveil a headstone for Hee Byung Park today.

• When: 11 a.m.

• Where: Riverside Cemetery, 5201 Brighton Blvd.

McCrimmonK@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2502