Seodeamun Prison

This weekend we continued on our quest to check more things off of our "must see" list in Seoul. We met up with several other teachers to visit Seodeamun Prison which is one of the more somber places we have visited to date. Seodaemun Prison was used by the Japanese as a place to detain and torture Korean resistance fighters during their occupation in the early 1900s. I actually don't have too many pictures, because in many areas of the museum they are not allowed, and honestly many of the vignettes they have set up to depict what happened to the resistance fighters were so graphic that I understand why they have the "no photo" signs everywhere. I found it strange as well that there were so many small children running around.

Anyway, here is a view of the prison from above. Most of the buildings were under construction while we were there, so a picture of a picture will give you the best idea of the layout.

Front gate.

The first building that you enter is an exhibition hall, where all of the vignettes are set up, to give you an idea of what prison life was actually like. It still amazes me that South Korea is what it is today with so much oppression and utter destruction in the very recent past.

We then entered the prison buildings themselves. Looking down a hallway that was under construction, with all of the cell doors standing ajar but deserted was eerie.

Such small cells.

Sometimes the human capacity for evil is more than I can take.

Overall it was a very interesting trip and reminded me again of what a resiliant nation South Korea truly is!