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Seodaemun Prison
A chilling monument to Korean patriots who resisted the Japanese occupation.
Category Crime and Punishment, Catacombs, Crypts, & Cemeteries
Seodaemun Prison's main hall.
An anachronistic brick wall stands out amongst a rare park in one of Seoul's quieter neighborhoods. Behind the nondescript wall, a guard tower looms, and below it, a grim gate. This gate marks the entrance to Seodaemun Prison, a relic from a forgotten era in Korea's past seeped in subjugation and humiliation.
Seodaemun Prison was opened in 1908 by occupying Japanese forces in an attempt to impose order on the newly acquired territory. Prior, the country had a virtually non-existent penal system, and the introduction of Seodaemun Prison was a precursor to full out occupation.
Seodaemun became a bastion for the Korean independence movement from its opening in 1908 until the liberation of the country in 1945. As the Japanese arrested more patriots, the prison's notoriety increased and it eventually became a symbol of perseverance. Many patriots died in custody, were tortured to death, or were executed within the prison's walls. The macabre execution hall still stands, housing the prison's gallows (with a tunnel nearby to dispose of corpses).
Throughout the preserved prison-turned-museum, you can see chillingly recreated torture chambers, jail cells, isolation cells, and more. The women's section has been preserved, basement cells in which no privacy was afforded. Some of the torture chambers have frighteningly realistic mannequins and effigies to famous Korean patriots who died within the prison.
Designated as a historic site in 1988 and renovated in 1995, Seodaemun is an interesting place to visit for those who want a tactile experience of the Japanese occupation and the horrors entailed. It stands out amongst Seoul's other historic sites as a monument to those who helped shape the modern Korean nation.
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- Website Korean Tourism Site Official Website
- Address Seodaemun-gu, Hyeonjeodong 101, Seoul, South Korea
- Cost Maximum admission price is 1,500 Won for an adult.
Comments
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Anonymous
April 23, 2012
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Anonymous
April 22, 2012
Ho boy, here we go 1. YES. It feels like I'm reliving the same day over and over again. All I do is wake up, eat. Go to the rec yard for a tltile while, go back to my cell at Recall to get counted, go eat when they unlock the doors, take a shower, blah. I'm bored just typing it.2. Yes. I regained the job I had previously when I returned from county jail.3. Yes. It's barred though.4. If you're in the SHU, you get moved every two weeks or so. For normal inmates on the compound, you always stay in the same cell unless you request to be moved somewhere else.5. That's kinda hard to answer. Some people DO prefer prison to the outside world. Those guys are heavily institutionalized, and their lives/minds are pretty much toast. Those people are destined to come back if they get released. I've even heard of people violating probation deliberately to come back to prison. That makes me sad.6. There are magazines all over the place here. I don't think there's a limit.7. No.8. There are tons of hustles in prison. Some people steal from the kitchen, others make wine, some cut hair, do laundry or iron clothes, some make greeting cards. There's lots of things you can do. Some do it just for a hobby, others do it to make a living. Everything depends on your personal situation.9. You go to the lieutenants office and say that you don't feel safe in the general population. You are placed in the SHU, and are kept there while SIS (think of an in-house FBI) does an investigation on your case. If they come to the conclusion that you are in danger, you get transferred to another facility. If they think that you will be ok, they release you back to the compound. If you refuse to leave the SHU, that's when you can get in trouble. You will be disciplined, and they may take privileges like phone and commissary away. See some of my posts from a year ago.10. Here, no. At the last prison, yes. We cooked with the electrical outlets since the prison didn't provide microwaves. See my previous posts where I talk about stingers.Hope that satisfies your curiosity! (Wow, I just spent $3.00 in email credits typing all this. )
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