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Revision as of 01:53, 15 May 2007
Template:Korean name Template:Koreanname Ahn Jung-geun or An Jung-geun (September 2, 1879 - March 26, 1910) (Christian name: Thomas) was a Korean independence activist. He is best known for his assassination of the Japanese resident general of Korea, Itō Hirobumi, following the signing of the Eulsa Treaty, with Korea on the verge of annexation by Japan.
An was born in Haeju, Hwanghae province, to a family of the Sunheung Kim lineage. He worked first in education, later joining the armed resistance against the Japanese colonial rulers. For his actions as a resistance fighter, he is regarded as a hero and a martyr in South Korea. He was awarded that country's Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1962.
He is also known for having cut off parts of several of his fingers and using the resulting blood to write "Korean Independence" on the Korean national flag.
An Jung-geun, having previously led Korean forces fighting against the Japanese, assassinated Ito Hirobumi, on the railway platform in Harbin, Manchuria in 1909. After firing upon Hirobumi, he is said to have yelled for Korean Independence and waved the Korean flag. Afterwards a Japanese colonial court sentenced him to death. The execution by hanging took place in Chiba prison.
Some claim that it is an irony that Ito Hirobumi was in fact strongly opposed to the annexation of Korea, and it was not long after Ito's death that Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910 on the pretext of the assassination. However, on the other hand, Ito did indeed play a big role in the Japanese take-over of Korea, and it also can be argued that Ito only slowed down the annexation till Japan was better prepared.
When An Jung-geun assassinated Ito Hirobumi, news of events in occupied Korea reached mainstream international media. People in many countries became aware of the situation there for the first time.
In popular culture
He is commemorated in the martial art Taekwondo with the Joon Gun pattern being dedicated to him.
In the science-fiction movie, 2009 Lost Memories, An Jung-geun is prevented from assassinating Hirobumi and the resulting cascading effect in the timeline causes Japan to win World War II as an ally of the United States.
External links
- 2009 Lost Memories at IMDb
- "Catholic Church in Korea and the Nationalist Movement". Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea.
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