Park Han-sol reports on Korea's financial regulators, along with fintech and insurance. She previously wrote about the art world, from biennales and exhibitions to fairs and auctions, with a focus on Seoul and the figures shaping the scene. Before joining The Korea Times, she spent a year at ABC News' Seoul bureau, contributing to coverage of major Asia-Pacific events.
Independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun's family photo, calligraphy to undergo conservation treatment
Independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun's family photo taken in October 1909 / Courtesy of Samsung Foundation of Culture
By Park Han-sol
By Park Han-sol
Oct. 26, 1909, a year before Korea was annexed by the Japanese Empire, is remembered by Koreans as a day when independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) pulled the trigger on Ito Hirobumi, a four-time prime minister of Japan and the first resident-general of Korea, upon his arrival in China's Harbin.
After the assassination, Ahn was arrested on the spot and sent to Lushun Prison, where he spent the final days of his life before being sentenced to death the following year.
This year, the three historic artifacts attesting to Ahn's time spent in prison ― one family photo and two of his calligraphic works ― will undergo a year-long conservation treatment by the Samsung Foundation of Culture.
The Leeum Museum of Art, operated by the foundation, will conduct the process and transfer them back to the original owner, Ahn Junggeun Memorial Association, in March next year. This is the first time the foundation has been involved in the preservation of independence movement-related cultural artifacts.
A faded black-and-white photo of Ahn's wife, Kim A-ryeo, and his two young sons kept in a silk album was the last remnant of family life for the imprisoned activist.
He never had a chance to reunite with his family after the Harbin incident, for Kim and her two children arrived in the city a day after the shooting, when he had already been taken into custody.
According to the foundation, the photo in question was taken by the Japanese police, who became suspicious of the three Koreans clad in hanbok (Korean traditional dress) roaming around the Chinese city and brought them to the Consulate General of Japan for questioning.
It is presumed to have been given to Ahn later by Sonoki Tsueyoshi, his acting interpreter, following his trial when he received a death sentence. After Ahn's passing, Sonoki kept the item for years before his daughter donated it to an anonymous Japanese collector. In 2020, the photo album was able to return to Korean soil.
Ahn Jung-geun's calligraphic works produced during his time in Lushun Prison / Courtesy of Samsung Foundation of Culture
Two calligraphic works scheduled for conservation treatment were produced in March 1910, days before his execution.
One of them, written in words that reflect Ahn's Catholic faith, returned to Korea in 2020, along with his family photo album.
Another, which quotes Confucius' remarks featured in the Chinese classical text, The Analects ― “A man who thinks big and has virtue, sacrifices his life to do the right things” ― was gifted to the Japanese reporter, Motoko Komatsu, who covered the event of the trial. The journalist took the work to Japan in 1921. Nearly a century later, in 2016, the calligraphy was donated to Korea by one of his descendants.
“The foundation will continue to strive to aid the conservation of independence movement-related cultural artifacts that lack financial and human resources moving forward to promote their values to future generations,” Ryu Moon-hyung of the Samsung Foundation of Culture said in a statement.