Early life An was born on 2 September 1879, in
Haeju,
Hwanghae Province,
Joseon. He was the first son of and , of the
Sunheung An clan (). Ahn is the 26th great-grandson of
Ahn Hyang. His courtesy name was , originated from seven dots on the chest and stomach, meaning that it was born in accordance with the energy of the Big Dipper. As a boy, he learned Chinese literature and Western sciences, but was more interested in martial arts and marksmanship.
Kim Ku, a future leader of the
Korean independence movement who had taken refuge in An Tae-hun's house at the time, wrote that young An Jung-geun was an excellent marksman, liked to read books, and had strong charisma. At the age of 16, An entered the Catholic Church with his father, where he received his baptismal name, Thomas (), and learned French. While fleeing from the Japanese, An took refuge with a French priest in Korea, Father Wilhelm (), who baptized him and hid him in his church for several months. Wilhelm encouraged An to read the Bible and had a series of discussions with him. He maintained his belief in Catholicism until his death, going to the point of even asking his son to become a priest in his last letter to his wife. At the age of 25, An began a coal business, but after the
Eulsa Treaty he devoted himself to the education of Koreans by establishing private schools in northwestern Korea. He also participated in the
National Debt Repayment Movement. His growing involvement in Korean independence activism brought him into disfavor by Catholic Church authorities, who insisted that the Church remain apolitical. As a result, he was refused communion and in 1907 left for Vladivostok, where he joined the armed resistance against Japanese rule. He was later appointed a lieutenant general in a Korean resistance group and led several attacks against Japanese forces. At the age of 25, he started a coal business, but devoted himself to the education of Korean people after the
Eulsa Treaty by establishing private schools in northwestern regions of Korea. He also participated in the
National Debt Repayment Movement, but found himself increasingly at odds with Church authorities because of his independence activism as they wanted the Catholic Church to be apolitical. This led to An being refused communion before he exiled himself in 1907 to
Vladivostok to join in the armed resistance against the Japanese colonial rule. He was appointed a
lieutenant general of an
armed Korean resistance group and led several attacks against Japanese forces.
Assassination of Itō Hirobumi In October 1909, An passed himself off as a Japanese expat through the guards of the
Harbin Railway Station, waiting at the
Harbin Railway Station for Itō Hirobumi, the
Japanese Resident-General of Korea back from negotiating with the Russian representative on the train. An shot Itō three times with an
FN M1900 pistol on the railway platform. To avoid misidentification, An also shot three men next to Itō: Kawagami Toshihiko (川上俊彦), the Japanese Consul General, Morita Jirō (森泰二郞), a Secretary of the
Imperial Household Agency, and Tanaka Seitarō (田中淸太郞), an executive of the
South Manchuria Railway. All were seriously injured. After the shooting, An yelled out for Korean independence in
Russian, stating "Корея! Ура!" (Korea! Hurrah!). An was arrested by Russian guards who held him for two days before turning him over to Japanese colonial authorities. When he heard the news that Itō had died, he reportedly made the
sign of the cross in gratitude. An confirmed this at first under interrogation but later said he had done no such thing. It is not clear why he changed his statement but perhaps he was worried that his having done so would have hurt the Catholic Church.
Trial and execution An's Japanese captors showed sympathy to him. According to An's autobiography, during his detention at
Lüshun Russo-Japanese Prison, he was well treated and provided with ample food, delicacies, and other daily necessities. His calligraphy was highly admired and sought after by Japanese, most of which were later stored in Japan. Foremost among them, An accused Itō of having ordered the assassination of
Empress Myeongseong—an act often attributed to Miura Gorō, who sent a report to Itō after the assassination. After hearing An’s account, Mizobuchi said: “Now that I have heard what you have said I can say that you are a righteous hero of the East. Such a person will certainly not be executed. So do not worry.” An responded, “I am not interested in discussing my life and death. Please quickly inform His Majesty the Emperor of what I have said. It is my hope that Itō’s evil policy can be rectified and the East rescued from its precarious position.” and
Chinglish,
Lüshun Russo-Japanese Prison,
Dalian, China Lawyers from Britain, Russia, and Korea, some retained by Korean communities abroad to assist An, sought permission from the Japanese colonial court in Lüshun to defend him, but their requests were rejected. The court instead appointed Japanese lawyers to represent him. In November 1909, before the trial, Japanese Foreign Minister Komura Jutarō ordered that An’s case be handled under Japanese criminal law. On 2 December 1909, Komura instructed the court to sentence An to death. The court held six public hearings in February 1910, attended mainly by Japanese spectators, except for An’s two brothers and a lawyer from Korea. During the proceedings, An argued that he should be treated as a prisoner of war rather than an assassin, but the court rejected the claim. On 17 February 1910, An met with Hiraiwa Yoshito, president of the Japanese colonial Lüshun High Court, and expressed his intention to write
A Treatise on Peace in the East as well as his decision not to appeal the case. Hiraishi assured him that he would have several months to complete the treatise before the execution. However, Tokyo later ordered that the sentence be carried out promptly, leaving An’s work unfinished. During his imprisonment, An asked that Father Wilhelm come and visit him in prison but Bishop Mutel refused his request, apparently because he wanted Ahn to publicly repudiate his actions before he would send a priest. Father Wilhelm visited him anyway, arriving in Lushun on March 1, 1910, hearing his confession and giving him Holy Communion. Mutel later punished Wilhelm for his actions but Wilhelm appealed to the Vatican and was vindicated. Before his execution, An received traditional
Korean white clothes sent by his mother and asked to be executed as a prisoner of war by firing squad. Instead, he was hanged as a common criminal at the prison on 26 March 1910. After An’s burial on the same day, Japanese officials held a banquet at the residence of Hiraiwa Yoshito to commend those involved in the case. Bonuses were awarded to officials who had participated in the case. In his will, An dictated that his body be buried in Harbin Park in China and later moved to his homeland if Korea achieved independence. However, the location of his burial has never been found. According to available records, he was buried near the prison. The South Korean government has not received cooperation from the Japanese government regarding the burial site, and several joint South–North Korean and Chinese excavation efforts have failed to recover his remains.
Hyochang Park in Seoul contains a grassy mound that serves as an honorary grave for An. ==Legacy==