A piece of calligraphy in which independence activist Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) laid bare the nature of Japanese imperialism roughly 120 years ago will be shown to the public for the first time. The eight characters read "manguk gongbeop buryeo daepo," or "international law is no match for a cannon."
The Korea Heritage Service said on the 26th that the work will be displayed on its own at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno District, Seoul, from the 27th of this month through Dec. 27, in an exhibition titled "A Face-to-Face Encounter: The Eight Characters Ahn Jung-geun Left Behind." The piece was recently recovered from Japan and returned home.
The calligraphy is believed to have been written in March 1910, shortly before Ahn was executed at Lushun Prison in Manchuria. The phrase means that international law is worth less than a single small cannon. It criticizes Japan and other imperialist powers that invoked international law at every turn while wielding violence, including in the unlawful and unjust trial of Ahn himself.
A museum official said the work "reflects Ahn's critical awareness of a reality in which international law was swayed by the logic of great powers and failed to protect the sovereignty of weaker nations."
The existence of the work was confirmed earlier, at a press preview in August. In the lower left corner is the palm print in ink that is characteristic of Ahn's calligraphy, still clearly visible, along with an inscription stating that it was written in March 1910 by Ahn Jung-geun, "a Korean." Of particular note is a record on the reverse side showing that Kurihara Sadakichi (?-1941), the warden of Lushun Prison, kept the piece in his possession. Kurihara served as warden from 1907 to 1913 and is known to have requested a postponement of Ahn's execution so that he could finish writing his treatise "On Peace in East Asia."
The exhibition space has been designed to evoke the corridors of Lushun Prison. Visitors pass through a darkened passage before coming face to face with the calligraphy, reflecting on the critique of its era contained in the eight characters and on Ahn's conviction in the cause of national independence.