The Rose of Sharon (Korea’s national flower) is set to bloom in front of Underwood Hall at Yonsei Sinchon Campus to carry on the legacy of national movement activist Dr. Nam Goong-uk, who led the national movement of diffusing of the Rose of Sharon during the Japanese Colonial Period. On February 14th, Yonsei announced that it received ten Rose of Sharon trees from Hanseo Church in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon Province. The donation follows the withering of 8 Rose of Sharon trees in front of Underwood Hall in February 2011. The withered trees are known to have been planted by Dr. Nam himself in 1931. A source at Yonsei said, “Dr. Nam has close ties with the university. In 1928, he donated money and artifacts from the Joseon Dynasty to then Yonhi College, and contributed greatly to the establishment of Yonsei University Museum, Korea’s first university museum.” Dr. Nam was a national movement activist who led the Patriotic Enlightenment Movement. In July 1896, he initiated the foundation of The Independence Club along with Seo Jae-pil and Lee Sung-jae. After the Eulsa Restriction Treaty, he set up Daehan Association and was inaugurated as president. As president, he created and distributed different fonts for Korean. In 1918, he retired to the countryside to Hongcheon-gun in Gangwon Province. There, he built Mogok Church and created Mugunghwa Hill from where he diffused the Rose of Sharon to all parts of the country. It is known that 80,000 seedlings were planted at the time and distributed nationwide. Mogok Church later became Hanseo Church. Seedlings from Hanseo Church’s Mugunghwa Hill were donated to the university in mid-February. Hyun Jae-ho, head pastor of Hanseo Church, said, “Although the trees that Dr. Nam personally planted on Mugunghwa Hill no longer exist, the trees here stand for his legacy. The exact species can only be identified when the flowers bloom. However, we think that 3 types - Baekdansim (white petals with red bud), Hongdansim (red petals with red bud), Baedalgae (white petals with white bud) – have been donated.” Yonsei will plant the seedlings on the campus nursery field and replant them in front of Underwood Hall around October when the flowers bloom.