Seoul: South Korea will confer state medals and awards on 283 late independence fighters to honor their roles in the resistance movement against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula, the veterans ministry said Thursday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the ministry plans to confer the Order of Merit for National Foundation on 65 people, the National Foundation Medal on 29, and the Presidential Commendation for National Foundation on 189 people on the occasion of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day.

Among the honorees were three miners who led an independence protest with around 100 miners in March 1919 by marching toward a Japanese police post, before they were shot to death. Choe Jun-nye, the wife of renowned independence fighter Kim Koo, will be recognized for her role in supporting her husband while he was imprisoned for four years and for leading a female enlightenment movement by serving as a teacher at a girls' school.

The ministry will also honor Kim Duk-rin, a Korea-born Chinese actor, better known as Jin Yan, for starring in many movies that encouraged anti-Japanese sentiments in the 1930s. The ministry stated that it seeks to shed light on those who have not been properly recognized for their roles in the country's independence movement, including women, workers, and cultural figures. This belated recognition is the result of historical records and on-site inspections.

Since the establishment of the South Korean government in 1948, the ministry has honored 19,059 people as independence patriots. Of them, 11,999 were given the Orders of Merit for National Foundation, 1,600 the National Foundation Medal, and 5,460 the Presidential Commendation for National Foundation.