117 Years Since the Harbin Shots: Ahn Jung-geun's Dream of Independence and Peace

Did the young Korean man standing on the platform at Harbin Station in China know that his actions would have such far-reaching consequences? On October 26, 1909, Ahn Jung-geun shot Ito Hirobumi, Japan's first resident-general in Korea, at this station. Arrested at the scene, Ahn later explained his reasons in court and in his prison writings. Today marks exactly 117 years since that event.

Why Harbin?

At the time, the Korean Empire was losing its rights as an independent state under Japanese pressure. The 1905 Eulsa Treaty deprived it of diplomatic sovereignty; in 1907 Emperor Gojong was forced to abdicate and the Korean army was disbanded. Ito Hirobumi was a leading figure in Japan's policies of aggression during this period. Ahn targeted him as an act of resistance to the seizure of national sovereignty, rather than out of personal resentment.

Ahn had also worked to save his country through education, founding a school to train young people. He later joined the righteous-army movement in the Russian Maritime Province. In 1909, he and fellow activists formed the finger-cutting alliance (Danji Dongmaeng), pledging themselves to independence. Cutting off part of a finger as an oath showed how seriously he took that commitment.

October 26, 1909: What happened at the station

After learning that Ito would visit Harbin to meet Russian officials, Ahn prepared with fellow activists. The plan assigned U Deok-sun and Jo Do-seon to Caijiagou Station, while Ahn would be at Harbin Station. At around 9:30 that morning, as Ito walked past after stepping off the train and reviewing an honor guard, Ahn fired his pistol. Ito died from his wounds, and Ahn was arrested at the scene.

Yet ending the story here would leave out something important. During the trial, Ahn repeatedly explained why he had made his decision. That is why his words and writings deserve attention alongside his actions.

The convictions he expressed in court

At his trial, Ahn criticized Ito for depriving the Korean Empire of its rights and suppressing Korean resistance. He emphasized that he had acted as a member of the righteous army, not because of a private grudge against an individual. He therefore argued that he should be treated as a prisoner captured in wartime and tried under international law, not merely as an ordinary criminal.

Independence and peace appeared together in his statements. His concern was that East Asian peace could not be achieved while a nation was being stripped of its sovereignty. Whatever view one takes of the legitimacy of the action, his arguments remain important historical evidence for understanding the seizure of Korean sovereignty and the policies of aggression of the time.

The unfinished On Peace in East Asia

Even after his death sentence was confirmed in 1910, Ahn continued writing in Lushun Prison. He finished An Eung-chil's History, his autobiography, and began On Peace in East Asia. The peace he envisioned was not an order in which one country ruled another. At its heart was the recognition of Korea's independence and cooperation among Korea, China, and Japan.

He asked for his execution to be postponed so he could finish the book, but was executed on March 26, 1910. On Peace in East Asia remained unfinished. Its surviving introduction and fragments offer a glimpse of what occupied his thoughts as he faced death.

What should we remember 117 years later?

The Harbin operation did not immediately bring independence. The following year, in 1910, the Korean Empire lost its sovereignty entirely. Yet Ahn Jung-geun's life and ideas became an essential part of the history of Korea's independence movement. Rather than remembering only the gunshots at Harbin, might we also remember a man who dreamed of restoring his country's sovereignty and of peace among nations that respected one another?