Jeon Myeong-un

Who was Jeon Myeong-un?

Jeon Myeong-un was a Korean independence activist. He is best known along with Jang In-hwan for his role in the 1908 assassination of Durham Stevens, a former American diplomat in Japan who was later appointed as an advisor to the Joseon Dynasty government.

Jeon was a member of the Dongnip Hyeophoe, a Korean American association in the Bay Area. In March 1908, infuriated by Stevens' remarks claiming that common people in Korea welcomed the increasing Japanese influence in their country, the Dongnip Hyeophoe held a joint meeting with the Daedong Bogukhoe, another local association of Koreans of which Jang was a member. In a 1974 interview, Yang Ju-eun, a fellow attendee of that meeting, remembered that Jeon had a reputation in the community as a man of action, in contrast to Jang, whom he described as a "quiet and shy Christian gentleman".

On March 23, 1908, Jeon and Jang approached Stevens at the Port of San Francisco as he prepared to embark on a ship bound for Washington, D.C. Jeon attempted to fire his revolver at Stevens but his gun, which was wrapped in a handkerchief, would not fire. Jeon then rushed at Stevens and used his weapon as a club to hit Stevens in the face.