The story of Joong-Gun
An Joong-gun was born in 1879 with seven birthmarks across his stomach and chest in the shape of the Big Dipper, a sign his parents took to be a mark of greatness. Indeed, he was an excellent student and he was good at horse riding, archery and shooting. But An is best remembered as a Korean martyr who died for his country, executed for killing the first Japanese Governor-General of Korea.
In his youth, An studied Chinese literature and martial arts. He became a teacher and established his own school, but his career was cut short when Japan invaded and banned people from speaking Korean. An fled to China in 1907 and joined an anti-Japanese movement. In 1909, he and eleven friends each cut off a finger in a sacrificial oath of allegiance to their country's liberation.
Hirobumi Ito was Governor-General, a job that gave him control of Korean affairs. The Japanese took whatever Korean land they wanted and forced King Ko-jong to give up his throne in July 1907. After some severe rioting, Ito disbanded the Korean police force and army and seized control of the prisons and courts.
An, bitterly upset by the Japanese occupation, had resolved to kill Ito on his way to a meeting in China. When Ito arrived at a Manchurian train station on the morning of 26 October 1909, An was waiting for him. As Ito descended from the train, An stepped forward and calmly shot him dead.
An was seized by Japanese soldiers and put in prison at Lu-Shun. In the Japanese prison, he suffered five months of barbaric torture before he was executed in l9l0. But An’s act of martyrdom backfired: Ito's successor, Akashi Genjiro, was even harder on Korea. He shut down the newspapers, arrested thousands of Korean leaders and enforced a strict military rule that lasted another 35 years.
An Joong-gun was born in 1879 with seven birthmarks across his stomach and chest in the shape of the Big Dipper, a sign his parents took to be a mark of greatness. Indeed, he was an excellent student and he was good at horse riding, archery and shooting. But An is best remembered as a Korean martyr who died for his country, executed for killing the first Japanese Governor-General of Korea.
In his youth, An studied Chinese literature and martial arts. He became a teacher and established his own school, but his career was cut short when Japan invaded and banned people from speaking Korean. An fled to China in 1907 and joined an anti-Japanese movement. In 1909, he and eleven friends each cut off a finger in a sacrificial oath of allegiance to their country's liberation.
Hirobumi Ito was Governor-General, a job that gave him control of Korean affairs. The Japanese took whatever Korean land they wanted and forced King Ko-jong to give up his throne in July 1907. After some severe rioting, Ito disbanded the Korean police force and army and seized control of the prisons and courts.
An, bitterly upset by the Japanese occupation, had resolved to kill Ito on his way to a meeting in China. When Ito arrived at a Manchurian train station on the morning of 26 October 1909, An was waiting for him. As Ito descended from the train, An stepped forward and calmly shot him dead.
An was seized by Japanese soldiers and put in prison at Lu-Shun. In the Japanese prison, he suffered five months of barbaric torture before he was executed in l9l0. But An’s act of martyrdom backfired: Ito's successor, Akashi Genjiro, was even harder on Korea. He shut down the newspapers, arrested thousands of Korean leaders and enforced a strict military rule that lasted another 35 years.