서대문형무소에 걸려있는 대형태극기

Seodaemun Prison, a reminder of Korea’s modern history

Recently, my son has been showing a growing interest in Korean and world history. He’s learning about it as a very easy cartoon, but I’m happy to tell him about it because I used to be a rebel.So I thought it would be nice to feel history in my body, and I decided to visit the  Seodaemun Prison History Museum in Seoul. In the past, I used to jokingly tell stories from the Japanese era, saying that if you don’t listen to me, I might end up in jail, but now I’m here at Seodaemun Prison to tell you about Korea’s modern and contemporary history.

Seodaemun Prison History Museum

🚩 Introduction: A Japanese-built Kyungsung Prison turned penal colony, abolished, and opened as a history museum

⏰ Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last admission 30 minutes before closing)

💲 Fee: 3000 won for adults, 1500 won for teens, 1000 won for children (6 and under free)

📌 Address: 251 Tongil-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Korea

🚗 Parking: 1,800 won per hour (for cars)

📞 Contact : 02-360-8590

COPY RIGHT by Annotator

서대문형무소의 감시탑

History of Seodaemun Independence Park

철거되기 전 서대문의 모습. 출처 : 한국중앙학연구원

Children are very interested in landmarks that represent Seoul and Korea, such as Namdaemun and Dongdaemun, but while Namdaemun and Dongdaemun appear in many games and songs, Seodaemun is a bit unfamiliar. It’s rare to see Seodaemun as the main character anywhere.

In fact, there were four gates separating Hanyang, the capital of the Joseon Dynasty, which were Dongdaemun (Heunginmun), Namdaemun (Sungnyemun), Bukdaemun (Sookjeongmun), and Seodaemun (Don’s Gate). After Seoul became the capital of Korea, the other gates were restored, but not Donmyeongmun. Even during the Joseon Dynasty, the Don’s Gate suffered quite a bit. The Don’s Gate, which was built when the capital was established, was quickly closed, and King Sejong built a gate on the site of the current Seodaemun Gate, and the area is called ‘Sinmunro’, which means ‘new gate’.

서대문독립공원의 표지판

However, when Japan occupied Korea, Seodaemun was forcibly demolished. The reason was to run a streetcar, which was a newspaper at the time. At that time, Dongdaemun was almost lost, but it survived. The reason is ridiculous. It is said that it was the gate through which the Japanese army entered during the Imjin War, so it was necessary to commemorate it. It’s amazing that they dragged the Imjin War, which is over 300 years old, to save Dongdaemun and destroy Seodaemun… Anyway, Seodaemun was not restored in Korea after it disappeared for this reason, and we remember the other gates but not Seodaemun.

Now, Seodaemun Independence Park is located where Independence Gate used to be. I’ll write more about the Independence Gate next time, because I recently traveled to France and went up to the Arc de Triomphe with my child, and I proudly told him that we also have an ‘Independence Gate’ (modeled after the Arc de Triomphe and completed in 1898).

서대문 방문자센터 안내표지판

Once you’ve parked, follow the signs through the park to the Seodaemun Prison Museum. There are many other things to see with kids in the neighborhood, including a history museum, so it’s worth visiting several times if you have the chance.

Before entering the park, you can read about the history of Seodaemun Prison and the old stories of the place, which you can read and tell your children. In fact, the place was first opened in October 1908 and used as a prison for 80 years until November 1987. In 1987, the Seoul Detention Center was relocated to Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, leaving behind some of the buildings, which were remodeled and opened as the Seodaemun Prison History Museum in 1998.

Meet the red brick Seodaemun Prison

서대문형무소역사관 정면모습

This is where you enter the prison. Once inside, you will find the ticket office.

서대문형무소의 철문모습

I explain to him that when we used to go to jail, we used to get out through that iron gate, so he walks up to it and pretends to open it. When he comes out, he says, “Do I have to eat tofu today?

서대문형무소역사관의로고

The logo of the Seodaemun Prison History Museum is a house with a chimney. I think it’s a good logo without any rejection. There was a thought that Europe is constantly reminding and reliving the Holocaust, whereas we tend to psychologically bury and avoid the Japanese occupation, and I like the fact that we’re trying to remember it. Some say it’s because of the lack of historical cleansing, but we can’t move forward if we forget the past.

서대문형무소 매표소

You can buy tickets at the box office, which cost 3000 won per person for adults, but my son was free because he’s not yet 6 years old.

서대문형무소표

The logo was created to represent this entrance. The watchtower was a tower to watch over the prisoners. It looks like something you’d see in a movie or a drama, but it used to be a tower to watch over a lot of independence fighters, pro-democracy fighters.

서대문형무소의 망루

Visit an underground torture chamber.

We visited the museum privately as a family, but you can also join a docent commentary if you wish. The docent explanation is free of charge and is available in Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese. Reservations are available on the museum’s website on a first-come, first-served basis starting two weeks in advance, so it’s a good idea to sign up if you’d like to hear a more detailed explanation. (Children under 10 years old are not eligible due to the difficulty of the explanations.)

Even if you don’t want to receive a docent explanation, you can download the free interpretation app from the website. If you bring your own earphones, you can take a guided tour of the main exhibits and buildings just like any other museum.

서대문형무소 역사관

First, head to the History Exhibition Center, located right in front of the entrance. Here, the 80-year history of Seodaemun Prison is exhibited and explained in chronological order. ‘Eighty years of freedom and peace’that’s a lot of weight to carry.

서대문 형무소모형

Although most of the buildings have been demolished, this is a recreation of an early prison. You can see from the model that it has a radial panopticon structure for easy surveillance, and there are quite a few watchtowers scattered throughout.

There are many iron bars along the way, so even children will realize that this was once a prison.After you finish the first floor, you can see the basement and second floor of the exhibition center. The original basic course is to go up to the second floor and see the basement after seeing it, but we saw the basement first. The explanation was a little confusing… Considering the transportation route, it is more convenient to see the 2nd floor and then come back down to see the basement.

서대문형무소 역사관 지하 표지판

As you descend into the basement, the atmosphere takes on a darker tone and displays scenes of Japanese torture of independence fighters. Through the rusted iron door frame, you can see the figure of someone under the red light.

서대문형무소 구치소 모습재현

Unlike the torture scenes you see in movies and TV shows, the atmosphere was more stern and different because it was a real prison. Of course, since it was an exhibition, it was only a model and not a real person, but the atmosphere of the space seemed to add more realism.

서대문형무소 지하 쇠도리깨

I was personally impressed with this scene, the wall with the pitchforks was very grotesque, maximizing the horror atmosphere. There were a lot of visitors around, but I think it would have been quite scary to see something like this underground, alone, at night.

서대문형무소 지하 고문방

It was a reenactment, but I felt like I could still hear the screams as I watched the torture instruments, including chaining people to the wall and stabbing knives under their fingernails. Next, I came across a recreation of being locked in a small alcove. The room was barely a foot square. What would you think if you were trapped in such a small space with no light and no hope?

서대문형무소 독방재현

Here’s a torture device for putting people in. It has sharp barbs on the front, back, and sides, and it’s a device that you put a person in so that they can’t move around. When I see torture devices like this, I wonder how cruel people can be. I’m afraid to explain it to my son.

서대문형무소의 고문도구

Next up is a replica of a wall torture cell. This is where people are locked inside a very narrow wall and kept there for hours on end. They’d keep them like this for days at a time.

서대문형무소 벽관고문소

The space is slightly different for each person’s height, but this is how my son fit in. I asked him if it was stuffy, and he said it was dark and stuffy. I wonder how people can stand in this place for at least a few hours or even days.

서대문형무소 벽관고문소

We passed through the torture room and came to the exhibition space. Below are the shackles on my feet and the handcuffs on my hands. When I tell them that this is what happens when you become a prisoner, they ask me what kind of bad things you do. I start to tell them about my ancestors who fought for independence, but I realize that there’s no way to explain to them that even an innocent person can be locked up and shackled like this.

서대문형무소 족쇄

Rebellion of the Zealots

광복해부터 의열단까지 독립투쟁
 

The walls along the way trace the history of various patriotic and independent organizations, from the Liberation Association to the Ryeolbukdan to the 27th Battalion. At that time, anyone who had the will to do so was not afraid of going to jail and was prepared to die. They dedicated their youth and dreamed of the independence of their country.

오래된 태극기 목각판

When I look at the old wood carvings of the flag, I feel a sense of reverence, remorse, and nostalgia. When I think about the way the flag looks now, or the difficult times during the Japanese occupation when it was only a dream to wave this flag to your heart’s content, I can feel the determination that was carved into every grain of the wood.

 
서대문형무소 유관순열사

This is a picture of Yoo Yoo-sun in the exhibition center, and you can feel the determination in her eyes. I’ve heard her songs and seen her portrayed as a character in various children’s content, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her full-body image like this. When your son hears the familiar name of Colonel Yoo Yoo-soon, he poses in front of the statue quite reverently.

 
서대문형무소 역사관 2층 창밖으로 보이는 모습

This is the view from a window on the second floor of a history museum. As I look at the exhibit breathlessly, the red brick through the window, the green forest beyond, and the apartment complex seem to be in a strange place. It feels like a superposition of time and space, like the 1900s and 2000s are coexisting at once.

 
서대문형무소 투옥사진

These are photos of many people who were imprisoned at Seodaemun Prison. I feel sorry for them as I look at them one by one. It would not be possible for us to live on this earth without the efforts of these people. I hope that my son will realize the meaning of this photo one day.

서대문형무소 사형장 재현

This is a recreation of an execution chamber and an incinerator. I can see the darkness, the thick copper rope, the hanging, the pounding heart, and the swiftness of death. As I imagine the cold corpses exiting through the doorway, I realize how chilling this place must have been.

서대문형무소 역사관 정면 모습

We’ve only just finished the first museum, and I feel like my energy has been sucked out of me. My son was so brave to go through the whole thing even though he said he was scared halfway through, and I think he’ll have a different mindset when he learns history again.

A rigid prison of the past

Next, head to the Director’s Space Central Office, which is connected to the former prison. The contrast between the red brick and the blue sky is striking.

서대문형무소 중앙사와 하늘

The central house was the building that housed the guards who monitored and controlled the palace. Currently, it is connected to three of the Jaksa (10, 11, and 12 Jaksa). The central building itself is said to have been two stories, with the first floor serving as the guards’ offices and the second as an auditorium for training prisoners.

서대문형무소 중앙사 설명

When I went inside, I saw a taegeuk symbol on the iron gate. I think it might be a symbol used in the Seoul Detention Center.

서대문 형무소 쇠문

Through the open gate, you can see the lawn and the watchtower that used to watch over the prisoners in the distance.

서대문형무소 외부공간

This is an old photo. Could it be from the Japanese era? A guard is standing in front of the bars of a jail cell.

서대문형무소의 옛사진

It’s not what it used to be, but the white walls and black bars are eerily reminiscent of the past. I wonder what that guard was thinking when he kept this prison.

Move slowly inward. This is the view of the ceiling from the roof. It’s made in such a way that it can be monitored from above. The ceiling is quite impressive.

서대문형무소 옥사 천장
서대문형무소 옥사 모습

Each of these narrow prisons must have had countless stories behind them. They all look similar in structure, but inside these prisons were people with countless stories and tales, from Japanese independence fighters to modern times. Visitors to the museum are curious about the stories of each room.

서대문형무소 옥사문

Your son tries the iron doorknob of the cell. Inside, you find yourself in the punishment chamber of the Twelve Witches. It’s a dreadful place, narrow, dreary, and without light.

서대문형무소 옥사문

This place is less than a square meter across. It’s dark as ink. This is where the expression, you can’t tell the difference between night and day, literally applies.

서대문형무소 12옥사

The next place we find is room 3. That number is particularly eerie, as are those narrow bars.

서대문형무소 3번 옥사

I looked it up, and it’s called a pattong. It’s a tool that you press inside your cell like a switch to let the outside world know what’s going on. When you press it with your finger from the inside, the pattong’s stick falls forward so the guards can see it. But how well would they have listened…

서대문 형무소 패통
서대문형무소 옥사 2층 올라가는길

The second floor is a private area, so I take pictures from a distance.

서대문형무소 외부사진

When I step outside and look towards the prison, I realize that at least there’s some sunlight, a kind of hope, except for the punishment cells, like the one I was in earlier, where it’s all darkness. It looks like a red dormitory, and its classic appearance makes it look like a pretty building at first glance. The green lawn and the sky are a match made in heaven.

붉은 벽돌의 서대문형무소

When I step outside and look toward the prison, I realize that at least there’s some sunlight, a kind of hope. Of course, except for the punishment room like the food room earlier, it’s just darkness. It looks like a red dormitory, and the classic exterior makes it look like a pretty building at first glance. The green grass and the sky seem to match.

The prison of democracy

Next, head over to the other Oaks. Here, the exhibits are themed according to each halls. The other halls show the struggles of our predecessors in the search for democracy in modern history.

서울구치소로 사용되었던 곳

This time, there were exhibitions related to the democratization movement in the 1970s and 1980s in Oksa. It is a historical site that is still being evaluated, which we did not learn well. The inside of Oksa’s building is similar.

민주화옥사

Many people remember history, remember history, and learn history.Many foreigners showed a lot of foreigners.

서대문형무소 조각작품

This is a work that is cut out of acrylic and displayed like rain. The words, the emotions in the text seem to flow down like rain.

통일과 관련된 옛악보

This time, it’s an old score. It’s about unification. It’s been a long time since the division of the two Koreas was fixed, but there were times when the two Koreas were in a mood of reconciliation. It’s been 70 years since the division. Unification seems a long way off. Compared to the situation between the two Koreas in the 1980s and the 2000s, it’s quite grim now.

재일동포 석방을 요구하는 편지

There is also an article calling for the release of political prisoners of Korean descent in Japan. The modern and contemporary history of Korea is actually too complicated and stained. There were numerous conflicts between the two Koreas, democracy and communism, the past history with Japan, the sharp confrontation between the U.S. and China, modernization, the empowerment of labor, the military, and authoritarianism.

DEAR ABBY: I am your son leaving Oksa. I don’t know why you are suddenly holding your back, but I have looked around and I think I listened seriously to what you said. Thank you for not getting annoyed and following me along the way.

A sweatshop brick becomes a prison

This is a workhouse where prisoners in prison worked during the day. In the past, patriotic martyrs made bricks of labor here, and they were used to build and extend the prison. It’s like a legend of the Siseeps…

서대문형무소 공작사

Maybe it’s because I’ve looked around quite a bit. Now he’s a very backward looking son. He’s explaining, and he just nods…

서대문형무소 공작사 창문

One place with a large space has an interactive vision. If you click on the picture, you can see the names and history of the people who were trapped here.

 
서대문형무소 공작사 인터랙티브 비전

I came out after the club, and came out.It’s quite time, but there are many places to see.

In front of a large flag

He’s your son in front of a big Taegeukgi. Wow, it’s even smaller than a single sign of the eight trigrams. It’s been a long time since I saw a big Taegeukgi so closely.

서대문형무소 대형태극기

My son was so impressed with the large flag that he made one when he got home. It was definitely worth the trip to the Seodaemun Prison Historical Center.

서대문형무소 대형태극기

There are many exhibition spaces indoors, but there are also many things to see outside. The picture below shows what was seen from a window on the second floor of a building I first visited. It is called the place where patients with leprosy were collected separately.

한센병사

Chrysanthemums are still on the monument next to the Hansen’s disease treatment center. A former Japanese prime minister visited this place before, and I was there just in time. I remember it rained a little, but I think he was saying that although I don’t remember exactly what he said, I hope it would be a little comforting to the spirits who passed away here. However, it seems that Japan has not properly apologized with actions since then.

추모비 앞에 국화가 놓여 있다.

We also look at the monument and pay a silent tribute to our old ancestors.

추모 기념공간

The memorial space has looked like this as a plate shape.

Exercise facility and death chambers

격벽장 원형터 안내문

You can see in front of you is the amphitheater of the partition wall, where the Japanese colonial era inmate’s exercise facility was located. There was a guardhouse in the middle, and it was made radially to monitor all the inmates. And it’s a prison where you can’t even exercise at your disposal.

격벽장

The space is narrow and long inside, and my son is looking hard. I have many questions about the shape.

서대문형무소 사형장 표지판

Next, go to the death chamber near the end.

서대문형무소 사형장 표지판

A large tree falls in front of the excution building. He is a son running to see what’s wrong with that tree. The tree is called a wailing rice tree, and it tells the story that those who were heading to the death penalty cried while looking at the tree. I don’t know if the actual rice tree was there at the time, but the atmosphere is bleak because the fallen tree is still left intact.

사형장 앞의 통곡의 미루나무

It’s a figure of the death penalty, probably a restored model, but the atmosphere of the death penalty, which sits in a stone wall in a corner, is definitely dark.

The interior of the death row seems to have been made bright on purpose. They must have sat in wooden chairs and hung their necks in that thick line. How many people were executed here? Passing through the death row is the first gate, and the bodies must have been transported outside through that gate.

Room 8 of women's prison, Yoo Gwan-sun

서대문형무소 여옥사의 외관

This is a prison where only women were locked up. This is where undecided women were locked up before they were tried, and this is the room No. 8 that appears in his son’s favorite movie, “Daehan lived.” Yeoksa Room No. 8 is famous for being a place where many independence activists were locked up since Yoo Gwan-sun.

여옥사 8번방

In addition to the life story of Yoo Gwan-sun, simulations of the actual appearance of Yoo Gwan-sun are on display here. It is a project to return the swollen pictures to their usual self, and it seems to be a meaningful attempt. It is true that many of the people we remember were often devastated by torture that was different from their usual self.

유관순 열사 일대기

In addition to Yoo Gwan-soon, there are so many people who have passed through Room 8 and the female prison here. It was even more heartbreaking to see that everyone was looking at me because I was young.

8번방에 투옥되었던 분들 사진

The women’s prison here was only restored in 2013, which was unusually where there were steps down to the basement.

서대문형무소 여옥사 동상

After visiting Seodaemun Prison

When I come out, I see an unrealistic cloud, sky, and watchtower.

서대문형무소 망루

Before coming out, I stopped by the place where I was serving food (now a shelter and souvenir shop) and bought a Korean flag and finished watching the show. It’s been a long time, but I’d like to compliment my son for following me to the end and listening to me hard.

서대문형무소 벽면

I met this rose of Sharon on the way out. During this visit to Seodaemun Prison, I think it would be good for adults to also experience the experience of thinking about our past. Thank you for reading this long article.

 
서대문 형무소 앞 무궁화

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