(83) Patriot Ahn Jung-geun’s Life Seen by Saju

By Janet Shin

It is the 100th anniversary of Ahn Jung-geun's death on March 26, 2010. He was executed on March 26, 1910, after he assassinated Hirobumi Ito, the first Japanese governor-general of Korea on Oct. 26, 1909.

Accordingly, there are some Japanese documents showing the order for Ahn's execution. The documents reveal the fact that Ahn and eight Koreans were arrested in Harbin, China and put in solitary confinement and secretly spied on while in Lushon Prison in China.

On the other hand, there are controversies about whether to call Ahn a ``general'' or an ``independence fighter'' as he has been called so far, on top of recent government's effort to honor patriots who sacrificed everything to restore the country's sovereignty.

It is intended to recognize Ahn's contribution to Korean independence and the fact that what he did was based on ``military spirit'' as Ahn described himself as a ``chief of staff'' and the ``spirit of the military'' in some of his writings. However many disagree because Ahn was not working for the official army but more like an army raised for the cause of justice.

Whether people call him a general or an independence fighter may not be the core issue. He has truly been one of the most respected and loved patriots in Korean history, especially for his courage, decisiveness and martyrdom for the independence of Korea from Japan.

All Korean children are raised reading the biography of Ahn throughout their school years and honoring his patriotism.

We are now reviewing his saju to understand him better.

He was born Sep. 2, 1879, in Hwang-hae-do, Korea. He learned the Chinese classics when he was a child but was more interested in martial arts. He became a Catholic and later learned Western studies.

In 1906, he established a school to educate and cultivate young people. But with Korea as a Japanese colony, he realized it was not possible to establish a government. In 1907, he moved to China to join an army to fight for the independence of Korea.

According to his saju, he was born with the energy of yang, or earth, that suggests dignified faith in terms of the five element characteristics. The born month is September ― of metal energy, which in turn flows to water. Yang earth is compared to a big mountain when we classified the five elements. In the month of September when the energy is going toward cold and condensed rather than warm and growing outward, it would have not been possible for Ahn to establish his career (wood element).

While he still pursued ``fire element'' to achieve what he was working for, this means he could not but choose to assassinate the Japanese general Ito.

The decisiveness and pursuit of the end result is shown in metal and water elements, which are the more prevailing energy in his saju.

Consequently, too much weakened wood energy and damaged fire energy imply the fact that he ended his life after he carried out his plan (metal and water energy).

It is a tragedy that his patriotism resulted in death, but under the political and historical context, the honor would last longer than a human's life.

Looking at his life story and reading his writings, we could notice the sensitivty and consideration of his behavior. Indeed he received the fullness of justice and his actions came from his righteous belief. So what he pursued was the principle itself rather than the individual nationalism or personal hatred of a specific person or a specific country.

Ironically, he respected Japan as a successful Asian nation. He hoped that Asian countries could regain their sovereignty independently, with the help of Japan.

His assassination of a Japanese general and the recent mood to cherish his death should not be seen simply in an anti-Japanese perspective, but a valuable fact in Korean independence history.

The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea. She is the author of "Learning Four Pillars." She offers saju courses to all who are interested. For more information, visit her Web site (https://blog.naver.com/janet_shin) or email janetshin@hotmail.com.