Syngman Rhee Stayed Stateless in US, Refusing Citizenship Until Korea's Independence
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Newly found 1940–41 U.S. Alien Registration Receipt documents from Yonsei University’s Syngman Rhee archive confirm that Rhee (Syngman Rhee) remained a stateless person rather than becoming a U.S. citizen while living in America. The registration card, with his fingerprint, shows he complied with U.S. foreign registration laws but never changed nationality. Many overseas Korean independence activists naturalized in host countries to ease travel and diplomacy, but Rhee consistently refused, saying he would wait because “Korea will be independent soon.” His stateless status caused practical problems—he missed travel to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and relied on special diplomatic passports in 1932—but upheld his declared principle of not taking foreign nationality during the independence struggle. (alien registration receipt card)
