Author's Note 4

My name is Ahn Eung-chil 8
Cheonggye-dong's 20 mischievous children
30 Make a name for yourself as a master marksman
Thomas Ahn Jung-geun 42
The forced Eulsa Treaty 52
Leading a Volunteer Corps in Russia 64
Twelve Comrades Plot an Uprising 76
Harbin Gunfire 84
Hitchhiking Trial 92
Death of a Hero 100

As a child, I had no interest in studying and loved archery and sword fighting.

When An Jung-geun was born, he had seven moles on his chest and stomach.
So, his family thought that since he was born with the energy of the Big Dipper, he would become a great person in the future.
The name is 'Eunghal Eung', and the number seven is written as 'Eungchil'.
Eungchil was a prodigy.
I read the Thousand Character Classic at the age of four, even though I had not learned it.
But I was stubborn and was often scolded by adults.


Eungchil was good at archery and sword fighting.
He was also very good at shooting guns, so he followed the adults on a hunt and caught a large wild boar.
Grandfather and father always looked at that child with worried expressions.
Although he is manly, he has a very short temper. Seeing this, I changed his name to 'Junggeun', using the characters for 'heavy' and 'root', meaning 'heavy', to indicate that his fiery temper would subside and his words and actions would become calmer.
An Jung-geun had no interest in studying.
His father taught him Chinese characters, Confucianism, and Joseon history, but whenever he had the chance, Ahn Jung-geun would make up all sorts of excuses to go hunting with his friends.


Begin to think about our country's reality and future.

An Jung-geun, who became a Catholic at the age of nineteen, was also given the baptismal name 'Thomas'.
While traveling around various places with French priests to preach, Ahn Jung-geun realized that the people's level of education was lower than he had thought.
It was only then that I realized why my father always emphasized education.
From then on, Ahn Jung-geun began to think a lot about the reality and future of our country.
And I thought that in order for the country to become strong, we had to learn and master new knowledge from the West as soon as possible.


In 1905, Japan forced Korea to sign the Eulsa Treaty and interfered in our country.
An Jung-geun, believing that his country could not be taken over by Japan, established Samheung School and devoted himself to education and military training.
However, I thought that education alone was not enough to reclaim our country from Japan, so I formed a volunteer army and fought against Japan.

And in 1909, Ahn Jung-geun, who learned that Ito Hirobumi was plotting to forcibly take over the Korean Empire, decided to eliminate Ito Hirobumi when he heard that he was coming to Harbin.
I thought it was a heaven-sent opportunity to kill Ito Hirobumi, as it would allow us to let the world know about our country's situation.
To put this into action, Ahn Jung-geun put his heads together with Woo Deok-sun and devised a detailed operational plan.


Assassinating Ito Hirobumi and dying in a distant foreign land

An Jung-geun decided to carry out his mission at Harbin Station, and Woo Deok-sun decided to carry out his mission at Chaijiagou Station, one stop earlier.
If Woo Deok-sun fails, Ahn Jung-geun will assassinate Ito Hirobumi.
Woo Deok-sun was unable to achieve his goal due to the Russian military's intervention, and now Ahn Jung-geun had only one chance to kill Ito Hirobumi.


An Jung-geun, disguised as a Japanese person, entered Harbin Station, pretending to be a Japanese journalist.
And when Ito Hirobumi got off the train, he shot Ito Hirobumi three times in the chest.
Ito Hirobumi fell to the ground, and Ahn Jung-geun took out the Taegeukgi from his arms, waved it high, and shouted, “Long live the Korean Empire!”
I had the chance to run away, but I didn't.
To stand trial for the murder of Ito Hirobumi, and to inform the world of the crimes of Ito Hirobumi and Japan during the trial, and to assert our country's independence.


An Jung-geun, standing in court, confidently stated that his killing of Ito was part of the Korean War of Independence and that he did it not in his personal capacity but as the Chief of Staff of the Korean Empire Army for the independence of his country and peace in the East.
He said he was not a criminal and should be punished according to international law.
However, this was not accepted, and Japan sentenced Ahn Jung-geun to death.
An Jung-geun's mother tells him not to appeal and to choose death with dignity, as she wants to save his life. An Jung-geun decides not to beg for his life in a desperate manner, following his mother's wishes.
In this way, Ahn Jung-geun ended his life in a prison in Lushun, a faraway foreign land.


However, Japan did not return the body of Ahn Jung-geun, who was executed, to his family, but secretly took it away and buried it.
And they don't even tell me where they buried it.
It was because they were afraid that if Ahn Jung-geun's tomb was built, many people would visit it and feel the desire to take revenge on Japan.
In the end, Ahn Jung-geun's body was buried somewhere in a distant foreign land, Lushun, and has not been able to return to his homeland even after 100 years.

Ahn Jung-geun, a great independence activist who killed Ito Hirobumi, who attempted to destroy peace in the East and take over our country.
Wouldn't someone like Ahn Jung-geun, who quietly walked his own path in this chaotic world, be the very hero?