Kim Ku, a future leader of the Korean independence movement who had taken refuge in An Tae-hun's house at the time, wrote that young An Jung-geun was an excellent marksman, liked to read books, and had strong charisma.

[7] At the age of 25, he started a coal business, but devoted himself to the education of Korean people after the Eulsa Treaty by establishing private schools in northwestern regions of Korea.

He was appointed a lieutenant general of an armed Korean resistance group and led several attacks against Japanese forces before his eventual defeat.

He also shot Kawagami Toshihiko (川上俊彦), the Japanese Consul General,[8] Morita Jirō (森泰二郞), a Secretary of the Imperial Household Agency, and Tanaka Seitarō (田中淸太郞), an executive of the South Manchuria Railway, who were seriously injured.

[citation needed] In court, An claimed to be a lieutenant general of the Korean resistance army and demanded to be treated as a prisoner of war and not a suspected criminal.

I, as a lieutenant general of the Korean resistance army, killed the criminal Itō Hirobumi because he disturbed the peace of the Orient and estranged the relationship between Korea and Japan.

He recorded in his autobiography that the public prosecutor, Mizobuchi Takao, exclaimed "From what you have told me, it is clear that you are a righteous man of East Asia.

[7] On the same day of sentencing at two o'clock in the afternoon, his two brothers Jeong-geun and Gong-geun met with him to deliver their mother's message, "Your death is for the sake of your country, and don't ask for your life in a cowardly manner.

"[13] Judge Hirashi, who presided over An's trial, had promised An that a stay of execution for at least a few months would be granted, but Tokyo ordered prompt action.

[15] An dictated in his will that his body be buried in Harbin Park in China and then relocated to his homeland if Korea achieved independence but his request was not honoured.

[7] One of the 15 charges An leveled against Itō was that he had deceived the Emperor of Japan, whom An felt desired peace in East Asia and Korean independence.

His thoughts on Pan-Asianism were stated in his essay, "On Peace in East Asia" (東洋平和論; 동양평화론) that he worked on and left unfinished before his execution.

Well-known Chinese political leaders such as Yuan Shikai, Sun Yat-sen, and Liang Qichao wrote poems acclaiming An.

An's cousin An Myeong-Geun (안명근; 安明根) attempted to assassinate Terauchi Masatake, the first Japanese Governor-General of Korea (조선총독; 朝鮮總督) who executed the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910.

[citation needed] An's brothers An Jeong-Geun (안정근; 安定根) and An Gong-Geun (안공근; 安恭根), as well as An's cousin An Gyeong-Geun (안경근; 安敬根) and nephew An Woo-Saeng (안우생; 安偶生), joined the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai, China, which was led by Kim Ku, and fought against Japan.

[citation needed] Meanwhile, An Jung-Geun's youngest son, Ahn Jun-saeng [ko] became a prominent businessman and Chinilpa during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

He would leave on his calligraphy works a signature of "大韓國人" (Great Korean) and a handprint of his left hand, which was missing the last joint of the ring finger, which he had cut off with his comrades in 1909 as a pledge to kill Itō.

[26] One of his famous works is "一日不讀書口中生荊棘" (일일부독서 구중생형극; Unless one reads every day, thorns grow in the mouth), a quote from the Analects of Confucius.

[31] Historically, the Japanese government has generally deemed An Jung-geun as a terrorist and criminal, while South Korea has upheld An as a national hero.

China, on the other hand has declared that An was a "famous anti-Japanese high-minded person" while South Korea's foreign ministry stated An was a "highly respected figure.

[33] The poster warned of terrorism, and many South Korean citizens online criticized the police, asking "if it was meant to imply if An was a terrorist".

[citation needed] The 1979 North Korean film An Jung Gun Shoots Itō Hirobumi is another dramatized story of the event.

In the episode, entitled Patriot Games, a dead body in a Toronto cellar leads to an explanation of An Jung-geun's assassination plot wherein rogue Russian agents play a part, requiring swift action to prevent the outbreak of a potential world war.

[citation needed] Hero, a 2022 South Korean musical drama film dramatized story about the event, directed by Yoon Je-kyoon.