Jeon Myeong-un was born in 1884 in Pyongyang. While studying at Hanseong Academy (the predecessor of Gyeonggi High School), he organized a secret society and engaged in the independence movement as the oppression from the Japanese colonial government intensified. In 1905, after being pursued by the Japanese military police, he fled to the United States via Manchuria and the Russian Far East just three days after getting married. He worked on a farm in Hawaii before moving to San Francisco, where he worked as a laborer on railroad construction sites and in Alaskan fishing grounds.
As a member of the Korean Public Association, an organization for the independence movement in the Americas, he was active in the youth group. In March 1908, after the arrival of Durham Stevens in the U.S., he was outraged by Stevens’ remarks at a press conference stating that “Japanese imperial rule over Korea is beneficial and that only Japanese governance can develop Korea.” The members of the Korean Public Association and the Daedong Patriotic Society elected representatives to demand a retraction of Stevens’ comments, but when their demands were ignored, they began to discuss how to deal with Stevens, and Jeon volunteered for the task.
On March 20, 1908, at around 9:30 AM, Stevens arrived at the ferry terminal to travel to Washington. The 25-year-old Jeon Myeong-un, who was waiting, aimed a pistol at Stevens. However, it misfired. Jeon then grabbed Stevens by the collar and engaged in a struggle, striking him with the gun.
At that moment, Jang In-hwan fired his pistol. Unfortunately, one of the three shots fired by Jang hit Jeon in the shoulder, causing him to fall. The police arrested Jang In-hwan as the main suspect in the assassination and Jeon as an accomplice.
Jeon was detained on charges of attempted murder but was acquitted on June 27, 1908, due to insufficient evidence and was released after 97 days. However, feeling threatened by the Japanese consul and other officials who were trying to have him re-arrested and subjected to intimidation, he changed his name to Mack Field. Following the advice of Jang In-hwan’s lawyer, who suggested that he leave the area to avoid influencing Jang’s trial, Jeon went to New York and then returned. He later traveled to the Russian Far East, where he received a warm welcome from fellow Koreans and traveled around giving speeches and participating in anti-Japanese activities.
At night, he attended a Russian language school and diligently learned the language while actively participating in the Dongui Association, an independence movement organization in the Russian Far East, where he also met Dr. Ahn Jung-geun. In May 1909, he traveled through Russia with Lee Sang-seol of the National Assembly and Kim Seong-mu, a representative of the Korean Public Association, working to establish 16 local chapters in Russia.
In 1915, Jeon returned to San Francisco and worked in agricultural areas like Stockton, organizing a volunteer army under the slogan “Let’s help our homeland, Korea,” raising military funds to send to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in Shanghai and assisting Lee Seung-man’s independence movement.
According to an investigation by the Korean Governor-General’s Office, the funds raised by Koreans in Korea, the U.S., Mexico, and Shanghai after Jang In-hwan and Jeon Myeong-un killed Stevens amounted to a staggering 8,568 won and 41 jeon. On December 27, 1917, the Sinhan Minbo reported that “Mrs. Jeon Myeong-un, residing in Stockton, was hospitalized at the Stockton County Hospital after becoming pregnant for the first time at the age of 40, but her health was not good. After recovering, she was unable to see the world and tragically lost her life along with her child, which was indeed a sad event, and the hospital bills were also quite burdensome.” (At that time, Jeon Myeong-un lived in Stockton.)
Around 1920, he married Ju Soon-ki (or Choo Soon-ki), and by 1929, his eldest daughter was 7 years old, his second daughter was 5, and his youngest son was not yet 2 when his wife passed away early. From this time, Jeon faced many hardships, and due to the economic difficulties in the Americas, he was unable to raise his children, so he entrusted his three children to foster parents in Fresno and settled in Los Angeles in 1929.
Later, after his youngest son, who was 7 years old, drowned in a swimming pool at the Catholic orphanage, it is said that Jeon became more reserved. In the early 1980s, Min Byeong-yong, who was tracing early connections, met Jeon Myeong-un’s eldest daughter, Rosemary, and Margaret, who was responsible for the Southern California branch of the Holt Adoption Program, which worked for Korean children. According to his records, the two daughters had little knowledge of their father’s significant actions regarding the Stevens incident, as they had hardly lived with him. Jeon Myeong-un passed away on November 19, 1947, at the age of 63 due to a ruptured blood vessel caused by high blood pressure, ending his melancholic life. He was buried under the name Mack Field in a Catholic cemetery in Whittier, near Los Angeles. The Korean government attempted to repatriate his remains, but it could not be accomplished due to opposition from his daughters. In April 1994, he was interred at the National Cemetery. In recognition of his contributions, the government posthumously awarded him the Order of Merit for National Foundation in 1962.
Biography of Jang In-hwan and Jeon Myeong-un
The “Biography of Jang In-hwan and Jeon Myeong-un” was published by the Korean Community Association in 1909. The author, Lee Sang-seol, who had gone to The Hague as a special envoy, completed it while staying at the Korean Public Association Hall after returning to the U.S.
This book was sent to those who contributed funds, with a total of 3,000 copies printed and distributed not only in the continental U.S. but also in Hawaii (1,480 copies), the Russian Far East (90 copies), and Mexico (70 copies), widely publicizing the lives and significance of the two doctors’ actions.
Durham White Stevens (1852-1908)
Stevens, a friend of President Roosevelt, was born in 1852 in Ohio and graduated from Columbia University Law School in New York. He briefly worked in the State Department before becoming the secretary at the U.S. Legation in Japan, where he served for about a year.
After returning to the U.S. in 1883, he became the secretary at the U.S. Consulate in Japan and became closely aligned with Japanese interests. The following year, he was hired as an advisor to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, beginning his aggressive diplomatic efforts toward Korea. He accompanied the Japanese plenipotentiary during the signing of the Hanseong Treaty, which was established following the Gapsin Coup, working for Japanese interests and even receiving a medal from Japan. He played a significant role in the Treaty of Portsmouth, inserting the terms “guidance, protection, and supervision,” which provided a basis for Japan’s control over Korea.
In 1904, he was invited as a diplomatic advisor to the Korean government, known for working for Japanese benefits despite being an American. He took the lead in the signing of the Eulmi Treaty in 1905, which stripped Korea of its diplomatic rights, and played a crucial role in the forced abdication of Emperor Gwangmu and the signing of the Jeongmi Treaty in 1907 after the Hague Secret Envoy incident. His visit to the U.S. in 1908 was officially described as a vacation, but it was actually aimed at preventing the intensifying anti-Japanese labor movement in the U.S. and lobbying Congress to block the introduction and passage of unfavorable legislation against Japan.
On March 23, 1908, he was shot by Jang In-hwan at the San Francisco ferry terminal and died on March 25, 1908. His funeral was held on April 18 in Washington.
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