Things to Do in Korea: Seodaemun Prison

One of the most unusual things to do in the Seoul area, is a trip to Dongnimmun Park and Seodaemun Prison. I say unusual simply because you wouldn’t think of a former prison as a recommended travel destination in Korea, but I recommend this park and prison simply because of the historical and psychological significance they have to the Korean people. If you have ever wondered why Koreans are so ultra-nationalistic this park and prison will give you an idea why.

When you arrive at Dongnimmun Park the first thing you will see is this large arch that towers over the park:

This arch, known as the Independence Gate, was designed by a Swiss engineer and constructed in 1898 to celebrate the end of Chinese suzerainty over Korea. The arch was built on the spot where envoys from China who traveled to Korea to receive yearly tribute payments, were greeted by Korean diplomats. The envoys were entertained and housed in a building near where the Korean diplomats met the envoys. After the Independence Gate was built the building for Chinese envoys became known as Independence Hall. It was used as a forum for scholars to teach self reliance and national independence.

Below you can see the an early 20th century picture of the arch and Independence Hall:

The original Independence Hall was destroyed during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea. Independence Hall was rebuilt by the Seoul government in 1996:

The new Independence Hall was built to look exactly like the original and is used today to house memorial tablets of Korean independence activists. Check the basement of the building when visiting to see if any special displays are being offered. The basement houses historical items and is occasionally open to the public.

After checking out the arch and Independence Hall feel free to walk around and explore the park. After shedding the yolk of the Chinese the Koreans were colonized soon after by the Japanese and were not freed from the Japanese until after Japan’s defeat in World War II. The park has a number of statues describing the lives of important Korean independence activists that fought against the Japanese colonization that are worth checking out:

Reading about the plight of the colonial era independence fighters sets the tone for visiting the nearby Soedaemun prison complex that was used by the Japanese to house over 40,000 independence fighters and activists with over 400 of them meeting their deaths here. As you walk through the park you cannot miss the looming walls and guard towers of the prison:

Just walk up to the front gate and buy a ticket from the booth for about a $2 fee. The tour around the prison is unguided, but you can request an English guide from the entrance booth which they sometimes have available. I did this one time and the lady at the booth setup a time for me to meet up with an older Korean gentlemen who spoke both English and Japanese fluently. He took a group of English and Japanese speaking foreigners including myself around the prison. This older guy told me that during World War II he worked as a conscripted laborer in Japan and that is where he learned to speak Japanese so well. After the war he returned to liberated Korea and during the Korean War he was selected as a KATUSA even though he could speak hardly any English. He said he learned English very quickly working with the US soldiers during the war though.

The guide walked us around the large brick buildings before leading us into a large prison museum:

The museum contained many historical items and information related to the imprisonment of Korean independence fighters and activists during the Japanese colonization of Korea:

After checking out the museum the guide took the group into the brick prison buildings where mannequins were displayed with sounds effects to give visitors an idea of conditions within the prison:

As you can see the displays are very graphic and include all the conventional and sexual torture techniques used by the Japanese secret police in the prison. The sound effects give the displays and even more powerful effect on visitors. I can’t imagine how the two Japanese girls in our tour group must have felt as we walked through the displays. To make matters even more uncomfortable our guide made lots of anti-Japanese comments in English towards the English speakers in our group while nicely explaining the displays to the two Japanese girls in Japanese.

I had to admire the two girls though for going on a tour like this probably knowing it was going to be an anti-Japanese hatefest. What I found a bit unnerving is that young school children were being paraded around to see these graphic displays. If you visit the prison on March 1st, the Korean Independence Day you can even see school kids get dressed up for executions:

I found the fun activities for children especially amusing. For this, they had guards dressed as the prison guards at that time. They would take the children and put fake cuffs around their hands and legs, then cover their heads in replicas of the hoods that people would wear to their execution. Then they would walk the children to a pen, lock them up, and then lead them to the execution site while the parents smiled on yelling “Mansei!!”

Non-surprisingly the anti-Japanese atmosphere has caused much anti-Japanese graffiti to be written on the prison cell’s walls:

Much anti-Japanese graffiti is written all over the prison cell walls, which leads me to believe this vandalism is probably encouraged by the museum authorities. Such vandalism at least to the eyes of a foreigner seems to be disrespectful of what should be considered a historical relic.

After walking through the cells and seeing all the graffiti, the guide led our group back outside to see more of the prison’s buildings:

The guide then took us to the building where death sentences were handed out to many of the activists:

Over 400 Korean independence activists met their deaths here at the gallows of Soedaemun prison:

After condemned Koreans were hanged, their bodies were disposed of through this secret tunnel located towards the back of the building:

By the time you get done with a tour of the prison it is easy to understand where part of the anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea comes from. As a foreigner I left the prison feeling disgusted by the actions of the Japanese authorities at the prison; I can only imagine how Koreans feel when going to this prison as well. However, after leaving the prison I can’t help, but wonder if it is proper to use the Soedaemun prison as a vessel to stoke anti-Japanese sentiment instead of a site of remembrance and reflection for the people who were imprisoned and died there?

Additionally it should be noted the prison was used by the Korean government after independence from the Japanese in order to house criminals, including political prisoners. The human rights abuses at Soedaemun Prison were continued by the various military dictatorships that ruled Korea for decades after the end of the Japanese colonial period. It seems that such information should be presented to visitors visiting the prison in order to educate people about not repeating human rights abuses in general instead of fanning the flames of anti-Japanese sentiment.

Dongnimmun Park and Soedaemun Prison can both be reached by taking Seoul Subway Line 3 to Dongnimmun station and following the signs to the park. The prison is open from 9:30AM-5:00PM and closed on Mondays. Like I said before, request an English guide at the front gate which may be available.

More pictures of the park and prison are available here.