[Limelight] The Roots of Ahn Jung-geun's East Asian Peace Theory Absent in Musicals

Director Yoon Je-kyun Carefully Portrays Japanese Soldiers' Humane Treatment
Simply the Origin of Alliance and the Beginning of Human Suffering
Also Surfaces as a Process of Developing Existing Ideologies

The film Hero includes a scene not present in the original musical of the same name. It depicts the volunteer soldier An Jung-geun (played by Jung Sung-hwa) releasing Japanese prisoners of war. This is recorded in the prison memoir An Eung-chil History. “After listening to your words, I find you worthy of being called ‘loyal and righteous men (忠義之士).’ I shall now release you to return home. When you return, please wipe out those traitors and rebels (亂臣賊子) who disturb the nation.”

This decision was difficult for comrades who had survived near-death experiences to understand. Beyond the loss of battle achievements and morale, it could have posed a danger to their own side. An Jung-geun refuted point by point. “According to today’s international law, there is absolutely no law that allows killing prisoners of war. They are detained somewhere and later returned after compensation. Moreover, their words came from sincerity and righteousness; how could I not release them? (...) Do we want to act barbarically? Are we planning to kill all 40 million Japanese people to restore national sovereignty?” The persuasion ultimately failed. The unit, increasingly divided internally, was soon ambushed and suffered a crushing defeat.

Director Yoon Je-kyun devoted great effort to this series of events for two main reasons. Hero largely retained the original musical’s framework, which focused on the period around the assassination of Ito Hirobumi (1841?1909). However, it was inherently weak in explaining the background that gave rise to his unique beliefs such as the East Asian peace theory. The humanitarian disaster caused by the treatment of prisoners was an excellent story to fill this gap. Placing it at the beginning can be read as the origin of the alliance and the start of human anguish. Director Yoon emphasized, “An Jung-geun was a soldier before he was a righteous man.”

“The Battle of Hoe-ryeong was, without exaggeration, a life-shaking event for An Jung-geun. Seeing his comrades being annihilated must have crushed his heart with various emotions. Despite his suffering and torment, he did not bend his convictions. He still lamented comrades who valued shooting Japanese soldiers. He judged that true independence was hard to achieve through volunteer soldier activities. I wanted to focus on the process of reflecting on his own footsteps and seeking a new direction for the independence movement. I was confident that this would not only provide a three-dimensional portrayal of An Jung-geun but also strengthen the thematic consciousness.”

The thematic consciousness unveiled after the assassination of Ito is the East Asian peace theory. In the early 20th century, many Asian intellectuals agreed that Asia should unite against aggressive Western imperialism. However, this carried the risk of justifying imperialism. Ito was a representative politician who brought this issue to the surface. He forcibly annexed territories unilaterally through military power. An Jung-geun judged that this threatened not only Korea but also peace in Asia.

“The policies Japan has adopted are utterly inadequate for the 20th century. In other words, they imitate the methods used by foreign countries in the past, which involve annexing weaker nations. Such thinking cannot achieve hegemony. We must do what other strong countries have not yet done.”

Japan’s peace theory was a vertical integration that involved urging the abandonment of sovereignty and relying on military force. An Jung-geun believed that true peace and development in East Asia could only be achieved through horizontal integration. Therefore, he even proposed a method for Korea, China, and Japan to create an East Asian peace conference body on equal footing. Professor Moon Woo-sik of Seoul National University’s Graduate School of International Studies explained in his report An Jung-geun’s East Asian Peace Theory and Asian Financial and Monetary Cooperation as follows.

“An Jung-geun’s concept of the East Asian peace conference body begins with Japan, the strongest power in Asia at the time, playing a role to first maintain sound finances, second gain the trust of countries worldwide, and third respond to Western powers exploiting Japan’s weaknesses. (...) If An Jung-geun’s peace concept were realized, a regional community like today’s European Union could emerge in Asia as well. From the perspective of a regional community, An Jung-geun’s East Asian peace conference body can be seen as composed of three pillars: political cooperation, financial cooperation, and security cooperation. Particularly noteworthy is that the establishment of peace in Asia presupposes economic cooperation through fiscal and financial collaboration. Considering today’s European integration process, which moves from economic cooperation to political cooperation, this is an exceptionally insightful concept.”

Another reason Director Yoon emphasized international law is here. He portrayed the subsequent assassination of Ito and the writing of the East Asian peace theory as a process of developing existing ideas. International law is essentially the basic premise of the East Asian peace theory. Since William Martin (1827?1916) in China translated and published American legal scholar Henry Wheaton’s (1785?1848) Elements of International Law, it had been expected as a tool to maintain peace and order between countries in East Asia. Although difficult to realize in the era of imperialism, it was frequently mentioned as a symbol of an ideal order.

Academia cites two main reasons why An Jung-geun insisted on international law in a volunteer soldier unit that had no prisoner-of-war camps. First, the volunteer soldiers wanted to be recognized as regular troops by the international community. If the volunteer soldiers were regular troops, Korea should also be recognized as an independent nation. Second, he believed it was the right virtue, the spirit of benevolence (仁). Professor Hwang Jae-moon of Seoul National University’s Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies wrote in his book Biography of An Jung-geun, “If one upholds the virtue of ‘benevolence,’ one may suffer losses in the short term, but in the long run, it could be the most desirable state, a path toward an order that guarantees peace between nations. At least in the realm of ideals rather than reality, this is so.”

Director Yoon hopes that film, as a popular medium, will become a tool to concretize ideals. Pointing to the still turbulent historical scene, he stressed the necessity of the East Asian peace theory. “Throughout human history, invasions by great powers have been repeated endlessly. It is hard to find a country that has avoided vertical integration. We must not let our guard down even now. Imperialism is stirring everywhere, though invisible to our eyes. However, it is problematic to interpret invisible tensions as conflicts between countries. Like An Jung-geun, we must identify and reject those with imperialistic tendencies to approach an ideal worldview. To cultivate discernment and insight, history education in schools must be prioritized. Calculus or English grammar may be important, but remembering the changes and rise and fall of human society is essential to prepare for the future. That is the very preparation and attitude to welcome a new history.”