Jang In-hwan

Jang In-hwan
Jang in a 1907 picture
Korean name
Hangul	장인환
Hanja
Revised Romanization	Jang In-hwan
McCune–Reischauer	Chang In'hwan

Jang In-hwan (born Pyongyang, 30 March 1875; died San Francisco, California, 24 April 1930) was a Korean independence activist. He is best known along with Jeon Myeong-un for his role in the 1908 assassination of Japan lobbyist and former American diplomat Durham Stevens.

Jang, a Christian, emigrated from Korea to Hawaii in February 1905, and from there to the continental United States in August 1906. He became involved with the Korean independence movement while living there, and joined the Daedong Bogukhoe. In March 1908, infuriated by Stevens' remarks about Japanese rule in Korea, the Daedong Bogukhoe held a joint meeting with the Dongnip Hyeophoe, another local association of Koreans of which Jeon was a member. Yang Ju-eun, a fellow member of the association, recalled in a 1974 interview that Jang, in contrast to Jeon, did not say a single word during that meeting; Jang had a reputation as a "quiet and shy Christian gentleman." However, he purchased a gun from his roommate in order to circumvent laws which prevented Asians from owning guns.

On March 23, 1908, Jeon and Jang approached Stevens at the Port of San Francisco as he prepared to embark on a ferry to Oakland to make a rail connection to Washington, D.C. Jeon fired his revolver at Stevens first, but missed, and instead rushed at him, using his weapon as a club to hit Stevens in the face. Jang then accidentally fired into the melee, striking Stevens twice in the back; Jeon was also shot in the confusion. The crowd which had gathered urged that they be lynched on the spot; Jang was arrested and held without bail on a charge of murder, while Jeon was sent to the hospital for treatment. He received news of Stevens' death two days later with "manifest delight".