Ahn Jung-geun Symbol of Korea-Japan Reconciliation

By Franklin Rausch

Contributing Writer

You do not have to live long in Korea before you see the image of a black handprint with the tip of the ring finger above the knuckle missing. You may see it on books, on the backs of delivery motorcycles, or even on an advertisement for heating and cooling systems.

This particular handprint belongs to Ahn Jung-geun, who, with 11 other compatriots, cut off the tip of his ring finger as he swore to work to restore their country's sovereignty.

This image is so readily recognizable by Koreans that there is no need to label it. But to non-Koreans it may seem a strange symbol. And upon learning what it means, they might ask why someone who is most famous for killing another person is so universally known and celebrated in Korea.

We can begin to answer this question by examining how Koreans commemorate Ahn. A good place to start is his memorial hall, which is located in Seoul's Namsan Park. While critical of Japan's colonization of Korea, the displays on exhibit there focus on Ahn as a patriot whose devotion to his country should be emulated by the present generation.

But patriotism is not the only lesson taught there. Ahn is put forth as a means of reconciliation with Japan. I saw the fruits of these efforts at a ceremony commemorating Ahn's death, sponsored by his memorial association.

A Japanese Buddhist priest, as well as other Japanese attended. I was struck by how many members in the audience spontaneously applauded as the priest offered a flower to Ahn's picture. While it is unclear how many Japanese accept Ahn as a peacemaker, one does see here a sincere desire by Koreans and Japanese to build better relations between their two countries and overcome their difficult history through Ahn.

Ahn saw himself as laboring to build peace. While in prison, he started writing an essay entitled "A Treatise on Peace in the East." Unfortunately, he was executed before he could finish it. But thanks to the existence of notes taken during an interview Ahn had with a Japanese judge after he had been sentenced to death, we are able to understand a good deal of his thinking.

Ahn hoped that by establishing a framework that would allow China, Japan, and Korea to work together while maintaining their sovereignty as independent countries, they could resist the encroachment of the Western empires.

Ahn even hoped that their association could be extended to India, Thailand, and other Asian countries.

Realizing that Japan's economic problems were a reason for its imperial expansion, he hoped to establish a joint bank that would help address the issue and provide funds for the development of China and Korea.

Thus, Ahn is held up someone as who was not only concerned with Korea but also with the well being of others.

Koreans today are proud to point out that such ideas of regional cooperation predate the establishment of the European Union. Moreover, Ahn's desire to resolve security concerns by establishing harmonious relations that respect the sovereignty of independent nations resonates with their own concerns.

An stressed that if his vision was ignored, and Japan continued on its present course of expansion into

Asia, dire consequences would follow. In fact, Ahn killed It? Hirobumi in part because he believed that by removing him, Japan would change its policy and help China and Korea reform so that they could together resist Western imperialism.

However, this did not happen. In fact, Japanese expansion helped lead to war with China in 1937 and eventually with the United States, Great Britain, and their allies. Pointing to Japan's complete defeat and destruction ― as well as the devastation which befell Asia ― many Koreans, and even some Japanese, see Ahn's warnings as prophetic. According to this view, if the Japanese state had heeded An's warning, a great deal of human suffering could have been prevented.

It must be admitted that the memory of Ahn does take on an anti-Japanese hue at times. However, such cases represent a departure from the historical record.

Ahn, while highly critical of Japanese colonialism and seeing It? as an archfiend, believed that he was acting for the good of Japan as well as Korea. In fact, his autobiography is full of praise for Japanese individuals.

He respected Japan as an Asian nation that had successfully reformed itself and escaped colonization, and hoped that it would help other Asian countries to do the same while respecting their independence.

We can find the common root of the varying images of Ahn described above, and so attempt to answer the question of why An is so popular in Korea by turning to the colonial period.

In the early 20th century, imperialists legitimized their colonization of other countries by arguing that it was their duty to reform "backwards" societies. Thus, Japanese imperialists contended that Korean society and culture were in such a sorry state that Japan had to colonize Korea for the good of the Korean people.

Even though Korea is no longer a colony, the humiliation of colonization and the sting of the accusation that Korean culture was somehow inferior to others is still deeply felt. I believe this is largely why Ahn is so important to Koreans today. They can point to Ahn as a Korean who, without regard to his own advancement, offered his life in hopes of winning peace and independence, not only for his own country, but for all of Asia.

Koreans can argue that if only Ahn's ideas had been put into practice, then the wars that have rocked Asia over the last century might have been avoided. And so, when the voices of the past say that Koreans suffered colonization because they were somehow inferior to others, they can hold up the example of Ahn as proof to the contrary.

The writer is a doctoral candidate at the University of British Columbia in the department of Asian Studies where he focuses on Korean religious history. His research was supported in 2007-2008 by the Korea Foundation and in 2008-2009 by Fulbright Korea.