Ong Iok-tek (1924-1985) was born in Tainan. He and his elder brother Ong Iok-lin (1919-1947) both graduated with honors from Taipei's First High School and Tokyo Imperial University. After the 228 Incident, Ong Iok-lin, who worked as a prosecutor, was taken away by plainclothes and never seen again. Younger brother Ong Iok-tek later fled to Japan in 1949 since he often criticized the government of art and cultural events.
Ong continued his studies at Tokyo Imperial University and became the first scholar to obtain a PhD degree in Taiwanese dialect studies. He was dedicated to his research subject and published many works related to Taiwanese history, language, and literature. In addition, beginning from 1960, Ong set up the Taiwan Youth Club, started the magazine Taiwan Youth, and was committed to the Taiwan Independence Movement. Furthermore, Ong championed compensation for imperial Taiwanese soldiers on the basis of humanitarianism.
Ong Iok-tek died of a heart attack in Tokyo in 1985. To honor his contributions to Taiwanese culture and the development of democracy, Tainan City government established the Ong Iok-tek Memorial Museum in the back row houses of Wu Family Garden Art Center, which is close to his birth place, on September 9, 2018.