Ahn Jung-geun’s calligraphy sells for $976,000
A previously undisclosed calligraphic work of independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun (18791910), created just days before his execution, fetched 1.3 billion won ($976,000) at an auction Tuesday.
The piece, which went under the hammer at Seoul Auction in the capital city’s Gangnam District, bears the poignant inscription, “The heart of a person may change from morning to evening, but the color of the mountain remains the same,” in Chinese characters, alongside Ahn’s own handprint, with the upper joint of his ring finger missing.
The quote, drawn from a classical poem frequently cited by Joseon-era literati, “reflects the activist’s unwavering determination for his homeland,” Seoul Auction said.
The calligraphy was produced in March 1910 in Lushun Prison in Dalian, China, during the final days of his life. Ahn had been sentenced to death for assassinating Ito Hirobumi, a four-time prime minister of Japan and the first resident-general of Korea, in China’s Harbin on Oct. 26, 1909, a year before the Japanese Empire annexed Korea.
During his imprisonment, Ahn left behind over 200 calligraphic works, of which around 60 are confirmed to have survived to this day, both in and outside of Korea. Korea has recognized 31 of them as national treasures.
The auctioned piece, revealed to the public for the first time, had remained in Japan until now and was repatriated to Korean soil through this occasion. The winning bidder is Hanmi Semiconductor, founded in 1980 by Kwak Noh-kwon, a descendant of another independence fighter, Kwak Han-so.