Seodaemun Prison was built forcibly by the Japanese in 1097-1908. During this time Japan occupied Korea as a colony. As a result, the Independence Movement was launched by numerous patriotic fighters. To combat the increase in patriotic acts, the Japanese built the prison to detain and kill anyone who acted out against their rule. It held an average of 500 prisoners at a time, but was said to hold up to 1,000 in it’s height. It was used to beat down independence by the Japanese until the Liberation of Korea on August 15, 1945.
I was unable to find any total numbers of those imprisoned and killed, but I’ve no doubt it was a high number. The building underwent several name changes and was even used by the Korean Government during the Korean War until 1987.
We walked out of Dongnimmun Yok, exit five and walked up to the entrance of the prison. It wasn’t as crowded as most tourists spots, but still seemed very quiet. We purchased our tickets and headed in through a small wall just under the watchman’s tower.
Once inside we followed the pre-determined path. First, we went into what was previously used as the Administration Building-now the exhibition room. There we were able to read about the atrocities that occurred within the brick walls during the Japanese occupation of Korea. There were various documents and artifacts that had been preserved from one of Korea’s gravest periods. The museum was eerily quiet, and you could see people’s hearts being hurt, negative opinions being formed, and bad memories being cemented.
The basement of the Administration building was used as Torture and detention rooms. It now holds extremely graphic displays. There were various scenes that depicted the various methods of torture. Life size mannequins had contorted faces and fake blood stains on their clothes. Water torture, sexual abuse, flogging, slashing, confinement, and various other methods were depicted. They even had sound effects portraying women squealing and men moaning in agony. It increased the somber experience.
We were then guided to one of the old prison buildings. In it you could see the dark, tiny cells where prisoners were left either to solitary confinement or imprisonment. Everything was designed to cause the prisoners daily grief-from lack of sunlight, lack of stimulation, lack of food, etc. Walking through the empty building, it was intense to imagine each cell filled with a human body.
The rest of the grounds contained various buildings. One was the Leper’s building; where prisoners with Leprosy were rounded up and kept. Others included the Execution building and the Worker’s building. I could hardly believe that prisoners were left in these buildings during the dead of winter and the middle of the summer.
One of the eeriest places was the “Corpse Removal Tunnel”. This was a secret tunnel that opened up behind the prison where guards could take corpses to public graves. This leads one to believe that the Japanese knew what they were doing was wrong. The tunnel had actually been covered up for many years, but was later recovered.
Other interesting sights were the memorial dedicated to those who had died within the prison walls and also the bricks used to create walkways. The bricks had a Chinese symbol on them that guarantees they were made and used in the time the prison was built.
The last building we saw was the Ryu, Gwan-sun Underground cell. These cells were used for female independence fighters and were named after a brave Korean woman.
Although the visit was somber and graphic, it is something that should be preserved and remembered. I think that all Koreans, and even others should look into this grave part of Korea’s history. I was however appalled at the number of small children there. School groups and families alike were walking through the prison grounds. I think it is horrible that these children are being exposed to such displays at such an early life. Many of the things they can hardly understand. It also contributes to further generations of hatred. I think this experience should be saved until children have decent reasoning skills, and stronger stomachs. True, some of them were just having fun with their families, but I could see the looks of disbelief, disgust, discomfort, and horror in the eyes of other Korean children. Some of them were being forced by their parents to look at certain displays, to read the explanations, etc. For such a well put together commemoration; I’m upset at it’s power being abused by the common Korean citizen.
All in all, it was an educational trip. I feel that Seodaemun prison now stands as a reminder of Korea’s dark past, but also as a beacon of it’s newfound independence and success.
No comments:
Post a Comment