The History Behind "Joong-Geun"
Ahn Joong-geun was a Korean patriot and martyr who sacrificed himself for the cause
of peace. He did this by assassinating Itō Hirobumi, the first Japanese governor-general
of Korea as a way to end his corrupt rule and to help foster peace and cooperation
amongst the countries of East Asia. Although his act of shooting Ito Hirobumi did
not have an immediate impact on Japan's brutal annexation of Korea, Ahn's act of
patriotism served as a source of inspiration to the loyalists and to the independence
fighters throughout the Japanese occupation.
To understand Ahn's actions, it is useful to understand Ahn's early years and the
history of Korea during Ahn's lifetime.
Ahn Jung-geun was born, in 1879, in the north-west section of the Korean Peninsula.
As a boy, he learned Chinese literature and Western sciences, but was more interested
in martial arts and marksmanship. In his late teenage years, he converted to Christianity,
which was gaining popularity in Korea, and was baptized into the Catholic faith
on January 10, 1897, receiving the baptismal name Thomas. He spent several years
working fervently as a Catholic missionary, studying the faith further with the
foreign Catholic missionaries serving in the region.
During this time, Korea was formally ruled by the Joseon Dynasty but was effectively
a client kingdom of the Chinese Qing Dynasty. Towards the end of the 19th century,
influence over Korea was increasingly an area of conflict between the Qing and Japan.
The end of the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 marked the rapid decline of any power
the Joseon state had managed to hold against foreign interference, as the battles
of the conflict itself had been fought on Korean soil and the surrounding seas.
With its newfound preeminence over the waning and weak Qing dynasty, Japan had delegates
negotiate the Treaty of Shimonoseki with the Qing dynasty. Through signing the treaty,
a move designed to prevent the southern expansion of Russia, Japan wrested control
over Chinese lands and, more importantly, over Korea.
Russia recognized this agreement as an act against its interests in northeastern
China which led, in part, to the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. By 1905, the Japanese
military achieved a comprehensive victory over the Russians. Following Imperial
Japan's victory in this conflict, which surrendered Manchuria to the Russian sphere
of influence in exchange for the acceptance of Japanese hegemony in Korea, and the
Taft–Katsura Agreement, in which the United States allegedly agreed not to interfere
with Japan in matters concerning Korea, the Japanese government sought to formalize
its control over the Korean Peninsula.
Prince Itō Hirobumi was a Japanese statesman and considered one of the "founding
fathers" of modern Japan. He wielded considerable power, serving as an Imperial
advisor and as Japan's Prime Minister four times. He was instrumental in negotiating
surrender terms in both the First Sino-Japanese and the Russo-Japanese wars. He
convinced Japan's Emperor Meiji that the Korean people and their emperor desired
close ties with Japan – even though this was far from the truth.
On November 9, 1905, Itō Hirobumi delivered a letter from the Emperor of Japan to
Gojong Gwangmuje, Emperor of Korea, asking him to sign a treaty that would make
Korea a protectorate of Imperial Japan. The Korean emperor refused since the treaty
deprived Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty, would strip Korea of its rights as
an independent nation, gave Imperial Japan complete responsibility for Korea's foreign
affairs, and placed all trade through Korean ports under Imperial Japanese supervision.
As a result, Itō Hirobumi ordered Japanese troops to encircle the Korean imperial
palace and threatened the Emperor in order to force him to agree to the treaty.
Gojong continued to refuse. Eventually, he was forced to abdicate and a puppet government
was installed that signed the treaty in secret.
Itō Hirobumi was named the first Japanese Resident General of Korea. He was answerable
only to the Japanese emperor and had the power to control all the Korean foreign
relations and trade. To fulfil his duties and to keep order in the country, he was
given total access to all Japanese combat troops stationed in Korea. Word soon leaked
out concerning the secretly signed "Protectorate Treaty," provoking a waves of anti-Japanese
violence. Although the Korean people were extremely irritated, the puppet government
in Korea enacted laws that only exasperated the situation, such as allowed Korean land to
be sold to Japanese without Korean consent – although the land generally was just
taken. Violence pervaded the general population, as many loyal Korean government
officials committed suicide and Korean government officials who had signed the treaty
were assassinated.
Like many Christians in Korea at this time, Ahn became active in the Korean independence
movement, protesting against Japan's increasing control over Korea. He promised
his dying father that he would dedicate himself to the cause of independence, pledging
that he would not drink alcohol until the day Korea was free from Japanese control.
Ahn went into self-exile in southern Manchuria where he formed a small private guerrilla
army of approximately 300 men, including his brother. This army conducted sporadic
raids across the Manchurian border into northern Korea, keeping a relentless pressure
on the Japanese in this region.
Russia was becoming very nervous at the level of Japanese activity in the northern
Korean area and Japan's obvious designs on Manchuria. Ito, who had officially become
the president of the Japanese Senate, arranged to meet with Russian representatives
at Harbin, Manchuria, to calm their fears over the Japanese intentions to annex
Manchuria and invade China. The final plans for the meeting between Ito and a Russian
government official were announced to take place on October 26, 1909.
That morning, when Itō Hirobumi arrived at the train station in Harbin, China, Ahn
Joong-geun was waiting for him. Ahn shot Ito as he exited the train and then he
gave himself up without any resistance. Ahn stated "I, as a lieutenant general of
the Korean resistance army, killed the criminal Ito Hirobumi because he disturbed
the peace of the Orient and estranged the relationship between Korea and Japan.
I hoped that if Korea and Japan be friendlier and are ruled peacefully, they would
be a model all throughout the five continents. I did not kill Ito misunderstanding
his intentions."
Ahn was given a trial but the trial itself was mostly a farce since the Foreign
Ministry had ordered the judiciary to find Ahn guilty and assign the death penalty
before the trial had even begun. Ahn was given the opportunity to speak briefly
at the trial and tried to present the defense that that Itō's actions in Korea were
themselves criminal and that Ahn had, therefore, acted justly in using violence
against him. Ahn composed a list of 15 crimes committed by Ito, which included forcing
the Emperor Gojeong of Korea to abdicate, forcibly seizing political power, seizing
railroads, mines, and land, deceiving the world by saying that Korea wanted to be
protected by Japan, and of tricking the emperor of Japan into thinking that things
in Korea were peaceful and without incident when in fact there is unrest and slaughter.
By listing these crimes, Ahn tried to demonstrate that Japan's colonization of Korea
was illegitimate and that Korean government was, in reality, Itō's private state.
During his trial, Ahn stated that he was not a "common assassin" but, rather, "a
prisoner of war." He argued that because Itō had illegally seized control of the
Korean government under the guise of legal treaties, Ahn and other Koreans had taken
up arms on behalf of a government that could no longer protect them, or even itself,
thereby appropriating the state's right to legitimately utilize lethal violence.
Killing Itō was, in short, not Ahn's final goal, but a means toward that goal. Ahn
believed that Itō was a rogue official following his own policies rather than faithfully
serving his Emperor. Now that Itō was disposed of and his "lies" had been revealed,
Ahn believed the Japanese Emperor would reform his country's policies and foster
peace in the region.
As expected, Ahn was found guilty and was sentenced to death. Ahn was not disturbed
by the sentence and as he was waiting for the sentence to be carried out, Ahn wrote
"On Peace in East Asia" to describe this thoughts on how peace should be achieved
in the region. He proposed that Korea, China and Japan form a confederation "of
politics, economy and culture" – much like today's European Union – with the creation
of a joint bank, the use of a common currency, military cooperation, and "respect
each other's independence." Ahn's vision for Asia included unifying the three empires
so as to counter and fight off European colonialism, restoring peace to East Asia.
He had hoped that with the death of Ito, Japan and Korea could become friendly because
of the many traditions that they shared. He hoped that this friendship, along with
good relations with China, would become a model for the world to follow. Ahn explained
that "if the emperors of the three countries of Japan, China, and Korea were to
meet with the Roman Pope, take their oaths together, and then be crowned by him,
the world would be astounded by the news." The legitimacy that papal coronation
would bring to these East Asian nations would prevent Western countries from threatening
them, Ahn believed, leading not only to peace in the region, but throughout the
world.
The assassination of Itō Hirobumi, like so many other actions by Korean patriots,
seemed to only serve to fuel the fires of Japanese oppression. In 1910, the office
of resident general, with Ito's successor now in charge, was changed to governor
general to allow a more dictatorial approach to the total control of Korea. Akashi
Genjiro was named as the commander of the Japanese military and police superintendent
in Korea. He launched an extremely harsh campaign to harass the Korean population.
He closed all newspapers, disbanded all patriotic organizations, arrested thousands
of Korean leaders, and enforced a strict military rule of the capital city of Seoul
by crack Japanese combat troops. This type of rule under the Japanese continued
in Korea until Japan surrendered at the end of World War II. The sacrifice of Ahn
Joong-Gun was one of many in this chaotic time in Korean history. His attitude and
that of his compatriots symbolized the loyalty and dedication of the Korean people
to their country’s independence and freedom. Joong-Geun's love for his country was
forever captured in the calligraphy he wrote in his cell in Lui-Shung Prison prior
to his execution. It simply said, "The Best Rivers and Mountains." This implied
that he felt his country was the most beautiful on earth. Although his roles spanned
from educator to guerrilla leader, he was, above all, a great Korean patriot.
On Mar. 26, 1910, Ahn Jung-geun was executed at the age of 32. He faced his death
proudly and moved many, including Japanese prison guards who were with him until
the end. Ahn's mother supported his action and said it was his duty as a Korean
to dedicate his life for the country. Although his act of shooting Ito Hirobumi
did not have an immediate impact on Japan's progress toward annexation of Korea,
An's act of patriotism served as a source of inspiration to the loyalists and independence
fighters throughout the Japanese occupation. For his actions as a resistance fighter,
An Jung-geun was awarded South Korea's Order of Merit for National Foundation in
1962. In 2009, the Chinese and South Korean governments have recently announced
the building of a new monument to An Jung-Geun in Harbin.
Even now, the spirit of Ahn Jung-geun still lives on.