Remembering Ahn Jung-Geun: The Patriot’s Place in East Asian Historyxml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /
Patrick E. Vaillancourt
Asian history spans thousands of years, numerous civilizations, countless achievements and a huge number of defining moments that led it to its place in the world today. China, Japan and Korea have followed a path to success both politically and economically, and are seen as vital players in an increasingly globalized world.
천 년 동안의 아시아 역사 안에, 수많은 시민들이 현재의 이 세계 안에서 끊임없는 성취와 엄청난 순간을 결정해 그들의 자리를 리드해 왔다. 중국과 일본, 한국은 정치적으로나 경제적으로 성공의 길을 따라왔다. 그리고 글로벌해지는 세계 안에서 역동적인 사람들이 나타났었다.
At a time when the world was not as connected as it is today; however, the economic and political makeup of Asia was starkly different. Cooperation was rare as nations sought to conquer other sovereign entities, and the idea of an “international community” was far-fetched. The late 19th and early 20th centuries was a period of significant religious influence, with nationalism being the dominant paradigm of the day.
More specifically, Koreans, while successful at taking a leading role in the shaping of many aspects of life in East Asia, have had it rough. Having been the middle power, geographically in the middle of two Asian powerhouses, all of Korea’s rice fields have, at one point or another, been used as a battlefield for fights between China, Japan, the Mongols as well as within Korea’s own rival factions. Koreans deserve the world’s respect not only for having survived for thousands of years, but also for being a major contributor of thought, creativity and innovation throughout its history.
In the final years of Korea’s Joseon dynasty, it was becoming increasingly clear to people on the peninsula that the Japanese Imperial government was calling the shots. In the eyes of many Koreans, Japanese domination over the whole of Korea was an imminent threat. The creation of freedom movements and independence militias was a natural response to an invasion in the making. Little did people realize at that time that it would be an independence fighter’s deed that, in the end, would seal Korea’s fate as a colony of the Empire of Japan.
This is said, of course, with great respect for the man who did the deed. Ahn Jung-Geun, the pan-Asianist thinker who assassinated Hirobumi Ito, is a hero in Korea and in parts of China for his part in Asian history, and deservedly so. A devoted Catholic, Ahn is regarded so highly not only for his thoughts on Asian cooperation, nor his living of a virtuous life, but by going on the record as saying that the “nation takes priority over religion”. By shooting Ito, he proved his words true.
There is merit to the argument that the Ito assassination prompted the Japanese government to quicken its ultimate takeover of the Korean peninsula. The annexation treaty came into effect a mere ten months after Ito’s death. While some people would be quick to blame Ahn for the hastened annexation of Korea, those same critics fail to realize that the annexation treaty was drafted in 1907, before Ito was assassinated. With or without Ito’s death, Japan was already in the midst of a complete takeover of Korea. Ahn simply reacted to this reality, and showed publicly his displeasure with the Japanese administration in Korea.
What makes this case so interesting is that, while Ahn was right to do what he did, this fact is not universally recognized. Of course what one considers heroism, another may call terrorism. Ahn was ahead of his time in terms of his worldview. He was a staunch supporter of “Asianism” as a functional paradigm that would secure a lasting peace and ensure prosperity for the whole of Asia. Ito’s assassination was simply debate taken to the extreme. Japanese leaders also believed in Asianism, but their thought at the time was that the whole of Asia should be under the Japanese flag. Japan sought an Asia that would have been all hers for the taking, whereas Ahn promoted an era of cooperation between sovereign states.
Much of Ahn Jung-Geun’s life and works remain a mystery to even the most studied of historians, and his place in history remains to be properly defined. The right of resistance is now recognized in international law and the people of Korea were right to fight for their freedom. Now, 65 years after Korea regained its de facto sovereignty, the heroes of the independence fight against Japanese colonization are still celebrated. Perhaps the greatest of these heroes is a man who stood for peace, freedom and cooperation, and was prepared to kill for it to be realized.
One hundred years after his famous deed, Ahn Jung-Geun is remembered in Korea as a hero who boldly stepped in to do what needed to be done for the good of his nation and its people. Even a century after his death, he continues to work for peace and cooperation by inspiring people to learn about his life and beliefs. Ahn’s belief in Asian cooperation remains to be fully realized.
Perhaps the greatest tribute to be paid to one of modern Korea’s founding heroes would be for today’s leaders to adopt a more Asianist approach to bring peace to the Korean peninsula.