Tour Through Time: Stop 6: Lushunkou District

We have travelled 122 miles to the coast and the Lushunkou District (formerly known as Port Arthur) where Ahn Joong Gun was imprisoned for the assassination of Hiro Bumi Ito. Ahn claimed he was a Lieutenant General in the Korean Resistance Army and demanded to be treated by the Japanese as a prisoner of war not a common criminal. He listed 15 offenses he believed Hiro Bumi Ito had committed which justified his execution.

He was shown sympathy by his Japanese captors, with public prosecutor Mizobuchi Takao reportedly telling him “From what you have told me, it is clear that you are a righteous man of East Asia. I can’t believe a sentence of death will be imposed on a righteous man. There’s nothing to worry about.” However, after 5 months and 6 trials he was sentenced to death, which angered him. His brothers reportedly visited him with a message from his mother “Your death is for the sake of your country, and don’t ask for your life cowardly. Your brave death for justice is final filial regards to your mother.”

Still, Ahn strongly believed that with Hiro Bumi Ito now dead, Japan and Korea could become allies, beginning but not completing an essay entitled “On Peace In East Asia” in which he recommended a combined army and joint bank notes between Korea, Japan and China.

Ahn requested to be executed as a prisoner of war by firing squad, but instead it was ordered that he be hanged as a common criminal, which happened on 26th March 1910. Ahn‘s love for his country was captured forever in the words “The best rivers and mountains” which he reportedly wrote on his cell wall in his own blood whilst awaiting his execution.

We will be marking our arrival with 122 prisoner get ups before continuing 230 miles east to the Chongchon River.

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Tour Through Time: Stop 5: Gaizhou

So after travelling 314 miles along the Cheolli Jangseong (Thousand Unit Wall) we have now arrived at Geonan, one of the major military garrisons, in present day Gaizhou.

The Cheolli Jangseong was a formidable defence built at a time of relative peace between the Goguryo Dynasty and Tang Empire. Some believe that the building of the wall and subsequent dethroning of the King of Goguryo by Yong-Gae was a simple lust for power, where others felt they were important steps to strengthen Goguryo at a time when it was submitting to the Tang in the interests of maintaining peace.

Ancient records portray Yong-Gae as a brutal dictator who carried no less than 5 swords and who stood on his subject’s backs to mount his horse. The Tang claimed he had unnecessarily provoked them into war, but loyal supporters of Yong-Gae claim these reports are just jealous and bitter.

To this day historian’s opinions are divided on Yong-Gae. Whatever the truth, the newly strengthened Goguryo Dynasty caused the Silla Dynasty to side with the Tang Empire. They continued their assault on Goguryo for many years, finally succeeding in 668AD, two years after Yong-Gae‘s death, and amidst a power struggle between his 3 sons.

To celebrate our arrival we will be performing a bonus exercise of 314 marine press ups before continuing along the coast to the Lushunkou District and the location of a prison.

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Tour Through Time: Stop 4: Nong’an County

After travelling 116 miles we arrive at the start of a great wall situated in present day China, but no it isn’t the great wall of China! This lesser known wall was built in 631AD by Governor Yong-Gae and is known as the “Cheolli Jangseong”, or Thousand Unit Wall, being a thousand “Li” (Chinese miles) long. The Li has varied over time but 1 Li is now known to be roughly 0.5km.

The wall took 16 years to build and had numerous military garrisons posted along it. It was built by Governor Yong-Gae in response to a Tang invasion of Goguryo where a small number of troops were sent to destroy a monument built to celebrate Goguryo‘s military victories over the Tang Dynasty‘s predecessors, the short-lived Sui Dynasty. Yong-Gae believed that the wall would protect Goguryo against any future invasions from the Tang Dynasty.

However, King Yeong-Nyu of Goguryo along with some of his court officials became nervous of General Yong-Gae and his military presence along the border, fearing that he had become too powerful, and so planned to have him killed. News of this was leaked to Yong-Gae who decided to invite 100 opposing court officials to a banquet celebrating his new position of Governor of the Eastern Province of Goguryo. These officials were ambushed and killed by Yong-Gae‘s troops whilst Yong-Gae attacked the King’s palace, defeating the guards and beheading the King.

To signify our arrival here we will be performing a bonus exercise of 116 leg raises before we continue 314 miles along the wall to one of it’s major garrisons.

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