Born in Pyeongyang, Pyeongannam-do, Kang Won-sin married Kang Yeong-seung in 1904. In May 1905, she traveled with her husband and his family to Hawaii aboard the SS Doric. While in Hawaii, she worked to support her husband’s studies. When her husband pursued a doctorate in law in Chicago, Kang continued to support his education alongside her sister-in-law, Kang Hye-won.
The family later moved to Dinuba, California, where Kang worked on a grape farm and supported her household by doing laundry by hand.
On March 2, 1919, Kang, along with Kang Hye-won, Han Seong-seon, and Kim Gyeong-ae, founded the Shinhan Women’s Association in Dinuba. Elected as its first president, she inspired Korean women in the U.S. to embrace their national spirit and actively supported the Korean National Association, an anti-Japanese nationalist movement. On May 18, 1919, the association issued a joint declaration in Sacramento, uniting various regional Korean women’s groups.
On August 2, 1919, at the Korean Presbyterian Church in Dinuba, representatives from the Dinuba Shinhan Women’s Association and the Willows Women’s Association convened to hold a joint inaugural meeting. This meeting led to the establishment of the Korean Women’s Patriotic League, a unified organization for the Korean-American community.
As a co-founder and later the third general leader of the Korean Women’s Patriotic League, Kang gathered $3 in monthly membership dues from members and sent funds to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea to support its diplomatic, propaganda, and military efforts. She also led campaigns such as boycotting Japanese soy sauce and personally inspected households to ensure compliance. Kang organized ethnic education for Korean-American children and spearheaded boycotts of Japanese goods, dedicating her life to the independence movement of her homeland.
In 1995, the South Korean government posthumously awarded Kang Won-sin the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Patriotic Class).
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