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기사입력 : 2026.08.18 17:00
[교육연합신문=이채원 학생기자]
Every August 15, South Korea marks National Liberation Day (Gwangbokjeol), commemorating the end of 35 years of Japanese colonial rule in 1945. While many celebrations focus on parades and official ceremonies, visiting sites tied to the independence movement offers a deeper understanding of how that freedom was won. One of the most meaningful places to do this in Seoul is the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Museum, dedicated to the man whose 1909 “Harbin Righteous Deed” became a symbol of resistance against colonial aggression.
Ahn Jung-geun (1879–1910) was a Korean independence activist, educator, and nationalist who believed that Korea’s sovereignty and peace in East Asia were inseparable. As Japan tightened its control over the Korean Empire after the 1905 protectorate treaty, Ahn joined underground resistance networks and eventually became a key figure in the armed independence struggle.
On October 26, 1909, at Harbin Railway Station in Manchuria, Ahn assassinated Itō Hirobumi, Japan’s first Resident-General of Korea and a principal architect of Japanese expansion into Korea. Ahn fired three shots on the platform as Itō stepped off his train, later stating in court that he acted not as a common criminal but as a lieutenant general of the Korean volunteer army fighting for his country’s independence and regional peace. Arrested by Russian guards and handed to Japanese authorities, he was tried, imprisoned at Lüshun (Port Arthur), and executed by hanging on March 26, 1910, just months before Japan’s formal annexation of Korea in August 1910.
The Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Museum (also called Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall) stands on the northwestern slope of Namsan in Jung-gu, central Seoul, near Myeongdong and Hoehyeon Station. The current building, redesigned and reopened around 2010, is composed of twelve regimented blocks arranged in a grid, symbolizing Ahn and the members of the “Dongui Danjihoe” (Blood-Oath Alliance), who cut off parts of their left ring fingers to pledge their commitment to Korea’s independence.
Inside, the museum is organized into multiple exhibition halls that trace Ahn’s life, family background, education, and involvement in the independence movement, culminating in a detailed reconstruction of the Harbin assassination and its aftermath. Visitors encounter photographs, documents, and multimedia displays, as well as replicas and, on special occasions, original pieces of Ahn’s calligraphy loaned from institutions in Korea and abroad.
In the vicinity of Namsan and central Seoul, visitors will also encounter memorials related to other painful chapters of the colonial era. Notably, Seoul maintains a Comfort Women Memorial that honors the women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military, featuring sculptures such as the “Eye of the World” and “Navel of the World,” inscribed with victims’ names and testimonies. While this memorial is not immediately adjacent to the Ahn museum, it is often included in educational routes around Namsan and downtown Seoul that connect the stories of armed resistance (like Ahn’s) with the suffering of civilians under colonial rule.
On National Liberation Day of Korea, the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Museum becomes more than a biography of one man; it becomes a focal point for reflecting on how individual sacrifice, legal and moral arguments, and collective memory shaped modern Korea. Ahn’s insistence that he acted for “independence and peace in East Asia” resonates especially strongly on a day that marks both the end of colonial rule and the beginning of Korea’s long journey toward democracy and reconciliation.
For students and families, the museum offers a concrete way to connect the abstract idea of “liberation” to real people, choices, and consequences. Standing before Ahn’s calligraphy, reading his courtroom statements, and then walking out into Namsan—past statues, memorials, and former colonial sites—visitors can feel how history is layered into the city itself.
Whether you are interested in Korean history, East Asian politics, or simply want a meaningful place to spend National Liberation Day of Korea, the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Museum and its surrounding area provide a powerful, thought-provoking experience. In understanding Ahn’s life and the landscape of memory around Namsan, visitors gain a deeper appreciation of the courage, ideals, and unresolved questions that continue to shape Korea’s relationship with its past and its vision for peace in the future.
ⓒ 교육연합신문 & eduyonhap.com 무단전재-재배포금지
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