▲ This file photo, taken Aug. 16, 2026, shows the replica of a gallows at Lushun Prison in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, where Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun is presumed to have been executed in 1910. (Yonhap)
▲ This file photo shows a bust sculpture of Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun at the gallows at Lushun Prison in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian on Aug. 16, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ A local tour guide points to the seats where Korean independence fighters, such as Ahn Jung-geun, sat during their trials at Kwangtung Court, in this Aug. 16, 2026, file photo. (Yonhap)
▲ This undated file photo shows the prison room where Ahn Jung-geun is presumed to have been imprisoned at Lushun Prison in Dalian, northeastern China, for assassinating Ito Hirobumi, the first Japanese governor-general of Korea, in Harbin in 1909. (Yonhap)
▲ Lushun Prison in Dalian, a port city in Northeast China, where Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun was incarcerated and executed in 1910, is seen in this file photo taken Aug. 16, 2026. (Yonhap)

By Kim Hyun-soo

DALIAN, China, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- A thick noose hung from the ceiling of the replica of a gallows at Lushun Prison in the northeastern Chinese port city of Dalian, accentuating the heavy, solemn mood of the room.

A label next to a bust sculpture written in Chinese read, "Ahn Jung-geun was executed here on March 26 at 10 a.m.," referring to one of Korea's most revered independence fighters against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

The gallows, which replicates the site where Ahn is presumed to have been put to death, is one of the few exhibitions at the Chinese state-run prison that features the footsteps taken by Korean independence fighters like Ahn.

Ahn was executed by Japanese authorities in 1910 for assassinating Ito Hirobumi, Japan's first resident-general in Korea, in Harbin the previous year. His remains are believed to be buried near Lushun Prison.

The prison has a special exhibit for Ahn, featuring his childhood from his birth in 1879, in Haeju in what is now North Korea's Hwanghae Province, to his experiences of serving in a volunteer army and his final assassination scheme in Harbin.

The proportion and significance of Korean independence fighters during tours, however, appeared to have been scaled back recently, as South Korean narrators are now barred from providing commentaries around the museum.

Park Hwan, a historian and a former history professor at the University of Suwon, said he was taken aback by the abrupt change in policy.

"I honestly came here thinking I would be offering a tour around, but I do feel a bit stunned after learning I am no longer allowed to provide narrations to students," he said.

As a narrator, Park joined a tour program, organized by the veterans ministry, of overseas historic sites for 45 high school students around northeastern China, including Dalian and Yanji, from Aug. 16-20.

"Lushun Prison, Kwangtung Court and the site where Ahn is presumed to have been buried ... these are all places I have been to well over 10 times," Park said, noting he had been allowed to offer commentaries during all previous visits.

The museum had reportedly been closed off to public access since October 2025 and reopened in late April following renovation work, according to Kim Wol-bae, a professor at the Harbin Institute of Technology, who has dedicated most of his research and writing to Ahn.

Lushun Prison had previously offered exhibit labels in the Korean language, placed next to Chinese ones, across all exhibitions. Most Korean labels, except for a few, were removed when the prison reopened to visitors, according to Kim.

The exhibition featuring international soldiers, including Korean independence fighters, such as Ahn and Shin Chae-ho, a historian and journalist credited with setting up a nationalist historiography of modern Korea, saw no changes, the professor said.

Experts cautiously pointed to the new Chinese law on ethnic unity and progress as playing a part in increasing China's grip on the narrative of history.

The law, which was passed by the National People's Congress in March and came into effect on July 1, aims to strengthen a sense of community among all Chinese people, including 55 ethnic minority groups in China.

Notably, Article 63 stipulates that Chinese authorities can hold individuals and organizations outside China accountable for acts undermining ethnic unity or instigating ethnic division.

Kang Jun-young, a professor at Seoul's Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said he believes the new law "certainly" had an impact on the recent change of policy at the museum.

"Lushun Prison, for instance, is relevant to the Korean race, but these locations will also be subject to the Chinese ethnic unity law if its narrative mars China's national unity or its national interest," he said.

Kang explained that China had highly assessed Ahn's argument for eastern peace theory and his anti-Japanese feats in the past, but these concepts could run afoul of its emphasis on its own narrative, such as sinocentrism or the "Chinese dream," a political slogan popularized by Chinese President Xi Jinping to achieve the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."

"China has to take the lead and draw the picture on their terms, which could make some aspects (of history) uncomfortable," Kang said.

Kim, the professor from the Harbin institute, said he saw no direct link between the new law and the museum's policy, noting that the measures were part of internal guidelines imposed by the museum after its reopening.

"Korean guides are not banned (from giving commentaries) but it can only be carried out after official registration and approval," he said.

Kang Jee-ho, 17, who participated in the five-day tour program, said he was "disappointed" that Korean labels were not visible across the museum.

"It is somewhat disappointing that information is not provided in Korean at the prison where Korean independence hero Ahn Jung-geun was incarcerated," he said.

Ahn was imprisoned at Lushun Prison for 144 days from November 1909 and was executed at the age of 32.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]