[Correspondent’s column] Will China’s memorial for Korean patriot Ahn Jung-geun return to Harbin railway station?

Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall, with its clock fixed at 9:30, the time when Ahn assassinated Ito Hirobumi, has since been demolished during yet another reconstruction of Harbin Station in China.

Station undergoes another massive reconstruction

In January of 2014, Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall opened at Harbin Station in China. It was created through a renovation of the VIP waiting room directly in front of the place where Ito Hirobumi was shot in 1909. The Harbin railway station building had been through several reconstructions and expansions throughout the 20th century and was barely recognizable from the days of Russia’s Chinese Eastern Railway. But even the modern renovations the building had undergone back in 1988 looked shabby by 2014, when Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall was due to open.

Therefore, the memorial hall stood out. The entrance was rebuilt according to the old-style Russian architecture, with yellow walls. Visitors were greeted by a black sign that read “Patriot Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall” in green letters, and a low fence at the entrance added a touch of class.

Inside the memorial hall, photos and explanations written in both Korean and Chinese were displayed to outline Ahn’s life, his revolt at Harbin Station and his philosophy. Some of the calligraphy that Ahn left behind also hung there. More than anything else, the highlight of the space was the view that could be glimpsed through the full glass window when one reached the end of the exhibition space. It looked out onto Platform No. 1, where Ahn shot Ito. The places where Ahn and Ito stood were marked on the floor. A sign hanging above the scene read “October 26, 1909.”

It has been just four years since Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall at Harbin Station was built, but these sentences read in the past tense, because the hall has disappeared. In March of last year, the hall was first closed and then removed, while Harbin Station underwent yet another full-scale reconstruction and expansion.

Platform No. 1 was also removed. During a visit to Harbin station on Aug. 5, a station staff member pointed to the barrier that had been erected to screen the construction and explained that it was where the memorial hall and the site of the incident had been. “It’s all been torn out now, so you can’t see it,” the employee added.

Harbin Station is being restored to its appearance during the Russian era, 100 years ago. The exterior is in the traditional style, but the interior design will be modern. The goal is to make it a station worthy of becoming a hub for China’s boasted high-speed railroad in the Northeastern Provinces.

Memorial was Xi’s promise to South Korea, not Park Geun-hye

When construction wraps up at the end of this year, will Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall be back? The establishment of the memorial hall was first accomplished with President Xi Jiping’s eager consent to former President Park Geun-hye’s request during her visit to China in June of 2013.

“Things should turn out well since this was personally ordered by President Xi. This was an agreement that China made to South Korea, not a private promise that President Xi made to President Park,” said Kim Woo-jong, former director of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party History Research Office. There have also been press reports that the Chinese authorities have decided to double the size of the memorial hall after Harbin Station is remodeled.

The interior of Harbin Station’s Ahn Jung Memorial Hall before it was demolished.

Questions and caution amid shifting South Korea-China-Japan dynamics

But others call for a wait-and-see approach because of the shifting dynamics between South Korea, China and Japan. While South Korea and China’s relations have been touchy since the dispute over the THAAD missile defense system, China and Japan are cautiously moving closer together. In the present situation, there’s no guarantee that China will present a united front with South Korea in the historical dispute with Japan as it did under Park. On top of that, several previous attempts to create a memorial to Ahn Jung-geun at Harbin were blocked by Japanese opposition. That was at a time when China was trying to attract Japanese capital.

The bust of Ahn Jung-geun and the various carvings and documents that had been at the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall in Harbin Station are currently on display in part of the Korean Ethnic Art Museum in downtown Harbin. This museum had served as Ahn’s memorial from 2006 until the memorial opened at Harbin Station.

“When this stuff was in the train station, we had a lot of Chinese visitors, but now that the exhibits are back here, our only visitors are South Koreans and a tiny number of North Koreans, just as in the past,” a museum staff member said.

Depressingly enough, this seems emblematic of China-South Korea relations. I doubt I’m the only one concerned about not seeing the memorial return to Harbin Station. Next time around, I hope I’m able to report that the new and improved memorial is being reopened.

By Kim Oi-hyun, Beijing correspondent

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