| An Jung-geun | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 September 1879 Haeju, Hwanghae Province, Chosun (today part of North Korea) |
| Died | 26 March 1910 (aged 30) Ryojun, China |
| Nationality | Korean |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 안중근 |
| Hanja | 安重根 |
| Revised Romanization | An Jung-geun |
| McCune–Reischauer | An Chunggŭn |
An Jung-geun or Ahn Jung-geun (September 2, 1879 – March 26, 1910) (안중근; 安重根; Baptismal name: Thomas) was a Korean independence activist,[1][2][3] nationalist,[4][5] and pan-Asianist.[6][7]
On October 26, 1909, he assassinated Itō Hirobumi (伊藤博文), the first Prime Minister of Japan and then-Japanese Resident-General of Korea, following the signing of the Eulsa Treaty, with Korea on the verge of annexation by Japan.[8]
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An was born on September 2, 1879, in Haeju, Hwanghae-do, the first son of An Tae-hun (안태훈; 安泰勳) and Baek Cheon-jo (백천조; 白川趙), of the family of the Sunheung An (순흥안씨; 順興安氏) lineage. His childhood name was An Eung-chil (안응칠; 安應七). As a boy, he learned Chinese literature and Western sciences, but was more interested in martial arts and marksmanship. Kim Gu (김구; 金九), future leader of the Korean independence movement who had taken refuge in An Tae-hun's house at the time, wrote that young An Jun-geun was an excellent marksman, liked to read books, and had strong charisma.[9]
At the age of 25, he started a coal business, but devoted himself to education of Korean people after the Eulsa Treaty by establishing private schools in northwestern regions of Korea. In 1907 he exiled himself to Vladivostok to join in with the armed resistance against the Japanese colonial rulers. He was appointed a lieutenant general of an armed Korean resistance group and led several attacks against Japanese forces before his eventual defeat.
At the age of 16, An entered the Catholic Church with his father, where he received his baptismal name "Thomas" (多默; 도마), and learned French. While fleeing from the Japanese, An took refuge with a French priest of the Catholic Church in Korea named Wilhelm (Korean name, Hong Seok-ku; 홍석구; 洪錫九) who baptized him and hid in his church for several months. The priest encouraged An to read the Bible and had a series of discussions with An. He maintained his belief in Catholicism until his death, even asking his that his son become a priest in his last letter to his wife.[10]
In 1909, An decided to assassinate Ito Hirobumi, who led the colonization of Korea as the Resident-General of Korea. Ito was to come to Harbin, Manchuria for a meeting with the Finance Minister of the Russian Empire. On October 26, 1909, An passed the Japanese guards at the train station, hiding a gun in his lunchbox.
Ito Hirobumi had come back from negotiating with the Russian representative on the train. An shot Ito three times with an FN M1900 pistol on the railway platform. He also shot Kawagami Toshihiko (川上俊彦), the Japanese Consul General, Morita Jiro (森泰二郞), a Secretary of Imperial Household Agency, and Tanaka Seitaro (田中淸太郞), an executive of South Manchuria Railway, who were seriously injured. After the shooting, An yelled out for Korean independence in Russian, stating "Корея! Ура!", and waving the Korean flag.
Afterwards, An was arrested by Russian guards who held him for two days before turning him over to Japanese colonial authorities. When he heard the news that Ito had died, he made the sign of the cross in gratitude. An was quoted as saying, "I have ventured to commit a serious crime, offering my life for my country. This is the behavior of a noble-minded patriot."[10] Despite the orders from the Bishop of Korea not to administer the Sacraments to An, Fr. Wilhelm disobeyed and went to An to give An the Last Sacraments. An insisted that the captors call him by his baptismal name, Thomas.
In the court, An insisted that he be treated as a prisoner of war, as the lieutenant general of Korea resistance army, instead of a criminal, and listed 15 crimes Ito had committed which convinced him to kill Ito.[11]
| 1. | Assassinating the Korean Empress Myeongseong | 2. | Dethroning the Emperor Gojong. |
| 3. | Forcing 14 unequal treaties on Korea.[12] | 4. | Massacring innocent Koreans. |
| 5. | Taking the power of Korean government by force. | 6. | Plundering Korean railroads, mines, forests, and rivers. |
| 7. | Forcing the use of Japanese banknotes. | 8. | Disbanding Korean armed forces. |
| 9. | Obstructing education of Koreans. | 10. | Banning Koreans from studying abroad. |
| 11. | Confiscating and burning Korean textbooks. | 12. | Spreading a rumor to the world that Koreans wanted Japanese protection. |
| 13. | Deceiving the Japanese Emperor by saying that the relationship between Korea and Japan was peaceful when in truth it was full of hostility and conflicts. | 14. | Breaking the peace of Asia. |
| 15. | Assassinating the Emperor Komei.[13] |
An's Japanese captors showed sympathy to An. He recorded in his autobiography that the public prosecutor, Mizobuchi Takao, exclaimed "From what you have told me, it is clear that you are a righteous man of East Asia. I can't believe a sentence of death will be imposed on a righteous man. There's nothing to worry about." He was also given New Year's delicacies and his calligraphy was highly admired and requested.[10] After six trials, An was sentenced to death by the Japanese colonial court in Ryojun China. An was angered at the sentence, though he expected it.[10] He had hoped to be viewed as a prisoner of war instead of an assassin.[10] On the same day of sentencing at two o'clock in the afternoon, his two brothers Jeong-Geun and Gong-Geun met with him to deliver their mother's message, "Your death is for the sake of your country, and don't ask for your life cowardly. Your brave death for justice is a final filial regards to your mother." [14]
Judge Hirashi, who presided over An's trial, had promised An that a stay of execution for at least a few months would be granted, but Tokyo ordered prompt action. Prior to his execution, An made two final requests; that the wardens help him finish his essay, "On Peace in East Asia", and for a set of white silk Korean clothes to die in. The warden was able to grant the second request and resigned shortly afterwards. An requested to be executed as a prisoner of war, by firing squad. But instead it was ordered that he should be hanged as a common criminal would be. The execution took place in Port Arthur, then also known as Ryojun on March 26, 1910. There has been an argument that Itō's death resulted in the acceleration of the final stage of the colonization process,[10] but the claim has been long disputed among historians.[15]
According to Donald Keene, author of "Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912", An Jung-geun was an admirer of Emperor Meiji of Japan.[10] One of the 15 'charges' An leveled against Ito was that he had deceived the Emperor of Japan, whom An felt desired peace in East Asia and Korean independence. An requested that Meiji be informed of his reasons for his assassination of Ito in the hopes that if Meiji understood his reasons, the emperor would realize how mistaken Ito's policies were and would rejoice. An also felt sure that most Japanese felt similar hatred for Ito, an opinion he formed from talking with Japanese prisoners in Korea.[10] While An was staying in the prison and on the trial, many Japanese prison guards, lawyers and even prosecutors were inspired by An's great spirit, righteousness, and humanity.[16]
The assassination of Ito by An was praised by Koreans and many Chinese as well, who were struggling against Japanese invasion at the time. Well-known Chinese political leaders such as Yuan Shikai (袁世凱), Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙; 孫文), and Liang Qichao (梁啟超) wrote poems acclaiming An.[17]
An was posthumously awarded the Republic of Korea Medal of Order of Merit for National Foundation (건국훈장 대한민국장; 建國勳章 大韓民國章) in 1962 by Korean Government, the most prestigious civil decoration in the Republic of Korea, for his efforts for Korean independence.[18] Memorial halls for An were erected in Seoul in 1970 by South Korean government and in Harbin by Chinese government in 2006.[19]
In 2010 An Jung Geun Symposium in Korea, Wada Haruki (和田春樹), a prominent history scholar in Tokyo University, evaluated An by quoting Ito Yukio (伊藤之雄), a fellow history schoar in Kyoto University.[20] In his text published in 2009, Ito Yukio claims that the reign by Ito Hirobumi resulted in strong resistance from Koreans as it was considered the first step for annexation of Korea due to the cultural differences, and that An is not to be blamed even if he assassinated Ito without understanding Ito's ideology (2009, Ito).
On March 26, 2010, a nation-wide centenary tribute to An was held in South Korea, including a ceremony led by the Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan and tribute concerts.
An's family produced many other Korean independence activists. An's cousin An Myung Geun (안명근; 安明根) attempted to assassinate Terauchi Masatake (寺内正毅), the first Japanese Governor-General of Korea (조선총독; 朝鮮總督) who executed the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910. But failed, imprisoned for 15 years, and died in 1926. An's brothers An Jeong Geun (안정근; 安定根) and An Gong Geun (안공근; 安恭根) as well as An's cousin An Kyung Geun (안경근; 安敬根) and nephew An Woo Saeng (안우생; 安偶生) joined the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai, China led by Kim Gu and fought against Japan. An Chun Saeng (안춘생; 安春生), another nephew of An's, joined the National Revolutionary Army of China, participated in battles against Japanese forces at Shanghai, and joined Korean Liberation Army in 1940. Later he became a lieutenant general of Republic of Korea Army and a member of the National Assembly of South Korea.
An strongly believed in a union of the three great countries in East Asia, China, Korea, and Japan in order to counter and fight off the "White Peril", being the European countries engaged in colonialism, restoring peace to East Asia. He followed the progress of Japan during the Russo-Japanese War and claimed that he and his compatriots were delighted at hearing of the defeat of one of the agents of the White Peril, but was disappointed that the war ended before Russia was totally subjugated.
An felt that with the death of Itō, Japan and Korea could become friends because of the many traditions that they shared. He hoped that this friendship, along with China, would become a model for the world to follow. His thoughts on Pan-Asianism were stated in his essay, "On Peace in East Asia" (東洋平化論; 동양평화론) that he worked on and left unfinished before his execution.[10] In this work, An recommends the organization of combined armed forces and the issue of joint banknotes among Korea, Japan, and China. Sasagawa Norikatsu (笹川紀勝), a Professor of Law at Meiji University, highly praises An's idea as an equivalent of the European Union and a concept that preceded the concept of United Nations by 10 years.[21]
An is highly renowned for calligraphy works. An's calligraphy works have been respected not only for his artistic skills but also honourable spirit, which is reflected on his works. While he was in prison, many prison guards such as Chiba Toshichi (千葉十七) who respected him, requested An for calligraphy works.[16] He left many calligraphy works which were written in the jail of Yeosun (Lushun) although he hadn't studied calligraphy formally. He would leave on his calligraphy works a signature of "大韓國人" (Great Korean) and a handprint of his left hand that was missing the last joint of ring finger, which he cut off with his comrades in 1909 as a pledge to kill Ito. Some of the works were designated to Treasures No. 569 of Korea republic in 1972.[22] One of his famous works is "一日不讀書口中生荊棘"(일일부독서 구중생형극; Unless reading everyday, thorns grow in the mouth.) Quoted from Analects of Confucius (論語), this sentence has been widely quoted by people who wanted to give emphasis to reading and studying.
North-Korean film An Jung Gun Shoots Ito Hirobumi is a dramatized story of the event.[23] He is commemorated in the martial art Taekwondo with the Joon Gun pattern being dedicated to him.
Novelist Bok Geo-il's 1987 novel Looking for an Epitaph (碑銘 (비명)을 찾아서) is an alternate history story, which is set in the 1980s of Korea that remained a permanent colony of Japan, as a cascade effect of An's failure to assassinate Ito. The Korean movie 2009 Lost Memories is very loosely based on the novel but tells a completely different story. In the Korean film, An Jung-geun is spotted and killed by Japanese soldiers before he is able to shoot Ito Hirobumi.
In the PC game Civilization IV expansion pack, Beyond the Sword, An Jung-geun is a Great Spy. The story is summarized in the song 1909 by the band Scrabbel. In honor of him, ROKS An Jung-geun (SS 075), the third ship of Son Wonil class submarines, was commissioned in 2009.