Ahn Eak-tai

An Ik-tae (安益泰, 1906–1965) was a musician who composed the Aegukga, South Korea's national anthem, and the orchestral work "Korea Fantasy." Active as a cellist, violinist, trumpeter, and conductor, he eventually settled in Spain as a composer. In the later years of Japanese colonial rule he moved to Germany, where he conducted music commemorating the tenth anniversary of the founding of Manchukuo and performed Japanese court music and the Japanese anthem—conduct that led to his inclusion in the Dictionary of Pro-Japanese Collaborators. These acts, together with allegations of pro-Nazi ties, keep his legacy contested to this day, even as the anthem he wrote remains in use as South Korea's national anthem.