Joong-Gun was named for An Joong-Gun. Very little is recorded about An Joong-Gun's life. He stepped in the spotlight of Korean history only briefly, but left his mark as one of Korea's most revered patriots. His story is best understood in the context of the turbulent political climate of the times. 

An Joong-Gun was born in 1879 in the town of Hae-Ju in Hwang-Hae Province. An's family moved to the town of Sin-Chun in Pyong-An Province when he was about ten years old. He became a well known educator and established his own school called the Sam-Heung (Three Success) School. His school, like others at that time, was destined for hardships under the Japanese military Occupation of Korea and became enmeshed in a Japanese power play by virtue of its location. In 1895, the Japanese government was determined to create a large empire that would include Manchuria and China. Korea was obviously necessary as a stepping-stone for creating this empire. However, the Korean government the time was under the indirect control of the Russian government. The pressure created by this political situation caused considerable unrest in Korea. Rising tension resulted in several meetings from 1896 to l898 among neighboring countries as well as foreign powers concerned about Korea's future. These meetings, which included Japan, China, Russia, England, and the United States, resolved very little.

Korea was pulled further into the conflicts when turmoil erupted in China in 1900. Chinese patriots, fed up with colonial domination of their country by foreign powers, incited the Chinese population to a wave of violent riots known as the Boxer Rebellion. In response to this rebellion, the colonial powers descended upon the region in force to protect their interests. Prompted by the movement of Russian army units into neighboring Manchuria, England established an Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1902. A Russian French Alliance was subsequently established in 1903 followed by a movement of French and Russian in into northern Korea. Meanwhile, the Japanese saw this action as a direct threat to their claim of Korea and demanded the removal of all Russian troops from Korea. When Russia rejected in 1904, Japan initiated a naval attack. Korea, of course, claimed neutrality but was invaded nonetheless by Japan. By the autumn of 1905, Russia had surrendered and Japan was firmly established in Korea. However, this invasion was not viewed as an act of aggression anywhere in the world, except in Korea.

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