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| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 안중근 |
| Hanja | 安重根 |
| Revised Romanization | An Jung-Geun |
| McCune–Reischauer | An Chunggŭn |
Ahn Jung-Geun or An Jung-Geun (September 2, 1879 - March 26, 1910) (Christian name: Thomas) was a Korean nationalist who assassinated the first Prime Minister of Japan, Itō Hirobumi, following the signing of the Eulsa Treaty, with Korea on the verge of annexation by Japan.
Biography
An was born in Haeju, Hwanghae province, to a family of the Sunheung An lineage. He worked first in education, later joining the armed resistance against the Japanese colonial rulers. For his actions as a resistance fighter he was awarded South Korea's Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1962.
He is also known for having cut off several part 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.
Interestingly, An Jung-Geun was not anti-Japanese. He was an admirer of Emperor Meiji of Japan. One of the 15 'charges' An accused Ito of 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 assignation 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.
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.
In the PC game Civilization IV expansion pack, Beyond the Sword, An Jung-geun is a Great Spy.
See also
References
- Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852–1912 by Donald Keene, Columbia University Press, 2002. ISBN 0-231-12340-X
External links
- 2009 Lost Memories at IMDb
- "Catholic Church in Korea and the Nationalist Movement". Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea.
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