Kwon was born in Sangsugu Village,[a] Pyongyang, South Pyongan Province, Korean Empire to Gwon Don-gak[b] and Jang Mun-myeong.

[5][6] The following year, she participated in the March 1st Movement, for which she spent three weeks in jail; after her release, she assisted with fundraising activities for the Korean Patriotic Women's Association,[e] as a result of which she was arrested and imprisoned for six months.

In China, she enrolled in the Hongdao Women's School[f] in Hangzhou, operated by American missionary Ellen Peterson, in order to learn Chinese and English.

She received various recognitions for her service to the country, including a 1968 presidential commendation and the 1977 Order of Merit for National Foundation.

At the time of the release of the 2005 South Korean film Blue Swallow, Park Kyung-won was believed to have been Korea's first female aviator; as knowledge that Kwon actually preceded her became more widespread, the distributor was forced to change their marketing campaign.