This year marks the 108th year since Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun's death, but his remains are still missing.
Until now, there has been *unsuccessful attempts by South Korea and China to find his remains.
And with the 73rd National Liberation Day coming up on Wednesday,... many people are hoping for more efforts on finding our national hero and bringing him back home.
Hong Yoo reports.
(Even in heaven, I will invest all my energy for our independence.
AHN Jung-geun)
Ahn Jung-geun, who fought for Korea's independence and killed Ito Hirobumi, one of the main people behind Japan's annexation of Korea, is yet to be brought home.
Ahn's remains are known to be buried somewhere near the Lushun Prison but have yet to be found and his tomb waiting for him in Seoul remains empty.
Little progress has been made toward finding the remains of patriot Ahn Jung-geun since the last time South Korea tried to look for the corpse with the help of China in 2008.
But there are renewed hopes of finding Ahn's remains thanks to the Panmunjeon Declaration in which the South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed in April to make joint efforts to find Ahn's body.
Past searches were not successful as China, which has access to important information for the excavation, was not so cooperative.
"The Chinese government stated that the request for the excavation of Ahn Jung-geun's remains must come from both South and North Korea since Ahn's homeland is officially Hwanghae-do Province, located in North Korea. With China having clearly stated its stance, the only way to start another excavation is through cooperation between the two Koreas."
When South Korea requested for topographic maps of the prison, China rejected the request saying that the region was a military base in the past so the Chinese military won't allow such information to be shared.
So South Korea's request for protection of the land where it is most likely that Ahn's body might be was also ignored and the area went through a lot of changes.
"We think they must have carried out his body through this door and they must have used this road to get here."
Cooperation from Japan is also important. Perhaps the most crucial clue to find the body is in Japanese hands.
"The document that specifically states that Ahn was buried in one of the public cemeteries of the prison is kept by Japan. The Japanese government is really meticulous at keeping records of everything. As such, there must be a document with the exact location of Ahn’s remains.
We keep asking Japan for it, but Tokyo has been uncooperative regarding our request. Moreover, this is not an issue that can be resolved in a short amount of time. "
And to find such a document, research from both the government and private sector is needed, and the two must work together for the project to be a success.
An Jung-geun’s last words were “bury my body again in my homeland when our nation’