Actress Ha Young’s great-grandfather, physician Ahn Sang Ho, owned a 2,700-pyeong (96,075 sq ft) rice field in the Gunpo area of Gyeonggi Province during the early years of Japanese colonial rule, newly uncovered records show.
Until now, Ahn Sang Ho’s land holdings had primarily been discussed in connection with large tracts of property in the Anyang area. This is the first time records have surfaced that specifically confirm his ownership of land in Gunpo, including the exact parcel number.
According to the land survey register for Geumjeong-ri, Nam-myeon, Siheung-gun, Gyeonggi Province, compiled during Japan’s Land Survey Project, Ahn Sang Ho’s Chinese-character name, “安商浩,” is listed as the owner of parcel No. 235. The land category is recorded as dap (畓), meaning a rice paddy. Its recorded area was “二七〇〇,” or 2,700 pyeong, equivalent to approximately 8,926 square meters.
Parcel No. 235 can also be identified on the original cadastral map from the period. Its location is particularly notable. The parcel was situated immediately next to the Gyeongbu Line railway, which was already in operation at the time. Under today’s administrative boundaries, the area corresponds to parts of Geumjeong-dong in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province.
Tracing the old parcel number through modern registry records and maps leads to the area around today’s Geumjeong Interchange. The original parcel No. 235 was later divided into multiple lots. Among them, Geumjeong-dong 235-11 was acquired by agreement by Siheung-gun, with July 17, 1983, recorded as the date of acquisition. In 2002, it was merged into Geumjeong-dong 87-22, after which its individual registry was closed.
The current registry for 87-22 shows that land originating not only from 235-11 but also from former parcels 235-12, 235-14, and 235-15 was incorporated into the same property. Parcel 235-11 measured 1,503 square meters, 235-12 measured 864 square meters, 235-14 measured 123 square meters, and 235-15 measured 21 square meters. All of these parcels were eventually incorporated into road property.
The parcels were acquired by agreement by Siheung-gun in succession in 1983. Parcels 235-14 and 235-15 were acquired that July, while 235-12 was acquired in September. Another successor parcel, 235-18, was acquired by the state in 1986 under a procedure for the negotiated acquisition of land for public use. Its managing authority was the Korean National Railroad Administration. The parcel is now recorded as 942 square meters of railway property.
On present-day maps, 87-22, into which 235-11 and the other parcels were merged, lies within the road area around Geumjeong Interchange. Its location also corresponds with the position of parcel No. 235 beside the Gyeongbu Line on the Japanese-era cadastral map.
However, the computerized registry records currently available begin with the acquisitions by Siheung-gun and the state in the 1980s. It has not been possible to establish whether the original parcel No. 235 was later inherited by Ahn Sang Ho’s family or transferred to a third party in the intervening years. There is therefore no basis to conclude that Ahn’s descendants received compensation when the land was acquired by agreement in 1983.
On October 8, 1926, the Dong-A Ilbo published an article titled “Japanese Forest Keeper Owned by Ahn Sang Ho Killed.” According to the report, a Japanese forest keeper who had guarded a mountain owned by Ahn Sang Ho for 17 years was murdered while going to supervise timber workers. The newspaper raised the possibility that the killing was motivated by a personal grudge and reported that a judge had rushed to the scene.
If the 17-year employment period is counted backward, the forest keeper appears to have begun managing Ahn Sang Ho’s forest land around 1909.
This record is separate from the newly identified parcel in Geumjeong-ri, and there is no evidence that the forest land was the same property as the 2,700-pyeong rice field. Nevertheless, it suggests that Ahn Sang Ho possessed substantial real estate in the Gunpo and Anyang areas beyond the newly documented tract.
Taken together with the 2,700-pyeong rice field near Gunpo Station and the large properties he later owned around Anyang Station, the records provide a clearer picture of how Ahn Sang Ho accumulated property along the transportation corridor connecting Gunpo and Anyang.
The newly discovered Gunpo property is particularly significant because it indicates that Ahn Sang Ho already possessed a considerable amount of land before he became widely known as a major landowner in Anyang.
Ahn studied medicine in Japan before returning to Korea and operating a medical practice in Jongno, Seoul, where he accumulated wealth. Newspapers published shortly after his death described him as an extremely wealthy man possessing thousands of seok of wealth.
Another notable aspect of Ahn Sang Ho’s wealth is the location of both his business and property.
Public biographical records list his medical practice at “16 Jongno 3-jeongmok, Gyeongseong-bu,” a location that corresponds to present-day Jongno 3-ga 16. The site is on Jongno’s main thoroughfare, immediately east of Tapgol Park. It has not been established whether Ahn personally owned the building or land where his clinic operated. Nevertheless, his practice was located along one of the busiest commercial avenues in colonial-era Seoul.
The Gunpo parcel newly identified in this investigation was likewise located beside the Gyeongbu Line railway. Anyang, where Ahn later became known for owning extensive amounts of land, also grew around Anyang Station on the same railway line.
In Seoul, he operated a medical practice on a major commercial thoroughfare. In Gunpo, he owned a 2,700-pyeong rice field beside a major railway. In Anyang, he eventually became the owner of large tracts of land, including property around the railway station.
In modern terms, major roads and railway-centered areas repeatedly appear in the story of Ahn Sang Ho’s professional and property holdings.
This alone does not establish that Ahn deliberately purchased land in anticipation of rising property values caused by railway or road development, nor does it prove that he engaged in land speculation. The actual purchase dates, prices, and circumstances surrounding his acquisitions have not been fully established.
However, the records do suggest that Ahn had considerable financial acumen when it came to converting income from his medical career into other assets, including land. His later reputation as an immensely wealthy man appears to have been closely connected to this broader accumulation of property and wealth.
There are also historical records of Ahn Sang Ho becoming embroiled in a land dispute.
On December 28, 1923, the Dong-A Ilbo reported that a lawsuit had been filed against Ahn seeking cancellation of a land-sale certification involving property in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. The plaintiff, Park Seung Hak, claimed that while he was away, Ahn had threatened his mother and arranged for official certification as though the land had been legitimately sold to him. It is not known what final ruling the court reached.
Until now, accounts of Ahn Sang Ho’s real estate holdings have largely focused on Anyang. He was said to have owned large tracts around Anyang’s old market and Nambu Market areas, and after his death, his son Ahn Jung Ho and other family members reportedly donated portions of the family’s land to schools and social facilities.
The newly confirmed 2,700-pyeong rice field in Gunpo provides another clue to Ahn Sang Ho’s earlier accumulation of wealth. Its location beside the Gyeongbu Line is particularly significant when viewed alongside his clinic on central Jongno and his later large-scale property holdings around Anyang Station.
At minimum, the records show that major transportation and commercial hubs repeatedly intersected with Ahn Sang Ho’s professional activities and property holding
