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Seodaemun Prison

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Seodaemun Prison History Hall (Korean: 서대문형무소역사관) is a museum and former prison in Seodaemun District, Seoul, South Korea. It was constructed beginning in 1907.

Seodaemun Prison History Hall
View of Seodaemun Prison History Hall from the Seodaemun Independence Park
Map
Established
  • 1908 (as prison)
  • 1998 (as museum)
TypeMemorial museum
Seodaemun Prison
Hangul
서대문형무소역사관
Hanja
西大門刑務所歷史觀
Revised RomanizationSeodaemun Hyeongmuso Yeoksagwan
McCune–ReischauerSŏdaemun Hyŏngmuso Yŏksakwan
Original name
Hangul
경성감옥
Hanja
京城監獄
Revised RomanizationGyeongsong Gamok
McCune–ReischauerKyŏngsŏng Kamok
Other names
Hangul
서울형무소
서울교도소
서울구치소
Hanja
서울刑務所
서울矯導所
서울拘置所
Revised Romanization
  • Seoul Hyeongmuso
  • Seoul Gyodoso
  • Seoul Kuchiso
McCune–Reischauer
  • Sŏul Hyŏngmuso
  • Sŏul Kyodoso
  • Sŏul Kuchiso
Literal translations:
  • Seoul Prison
  • Seoul Correctional Institute
  • Seoul Detention Center

The prison was opened on October 21, 1908, under the name Gyeongseong Gamok. During the early part of the Japanese colonial period it was known as Keijo Prison[1] (Keijō Kangoku). Its name was changed to Seodaemun Prison in 1923, and it later had several other names.[2]

History

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The prison was used during the Japanese colonial period to imprison Korean independence activists. It could originally hold around 500 inmates.[3] It had a separate facility for women and young girls. In 1911, notable activist Kim Ku was imprisoned here. In 1919, shortly after the March First Movement, the number of imprisoned increased drastically.[4] About 3,000 activists were held here.[3] Among the imprisoned after the March 1 Movement was Yu Gwan-sun, who died from the torture inflicted on her.

Park Jin-hong was a nationalist who spent over ten years of her life in Seodaemun Prison between 1932 and 1944 after being arrested five times.[5] There are statues of the friends Lee Hyo-jeong and Park Jin-hong reunited[6] in one of the women's prison cells.[7]

Shortly before the end of the colonial period in 1945, the number of prisoners was 2980.[8]

 
Aerial view of the prison in 1945

After liberation, the prison was used by the South Korean government, and between 1945 and 1950 the prison population tripled.[9]: 35 

When North Korean forces captured Seoul in late June 1950 they released over 8,500 prisoners from the prison. Those inmates were soon replaced by 7-9,000 political prisoners, of which at least 1,000 were executed by North Korean forces as they abandoned Seoul in late September 1950.[9]: 39 

The prison was known by various official names, including Seoul Prison until 1961, Seoul Correctional Institute until 1967 and Seoul Detention Center until its closure in 1987.[9]: 34 

In 1983 the Chun Doo-hwan government decided to move the detention center out of central Seoul in preparation for the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1986 it was announced that the prison would be demolished and replaced with a public park, however public pressure led to the decision in March 1987 to preserve the site as a memorial for colonial history.[9]: 36 

In February 1986 families of 25 detained students presented a petition calling for the end of torture of their children at the prison. In February 1987 the Democracy Youth League released a statement detailing the torture of their leader Yun Yoyong. Also in 1987 families held a protest outside the prison calling for the end of the torture and release of the students.[9]: 41 

The prison was decommissioned and inmates were transferred to the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province by the end of 1987.[10]

Most of the prison's post-1945 buildings and the southern section were demolished as part of the redevelopment, minimising future maintenance needs, while also erasing the recent history of the prison in favor of its colonial past.[9]: 47–8  Protests over the retention or demolition of the prison's outer wall in 1990 delayed redevelopment for several months.[9]: 49 

On 5 November 1998, the site was opened as the Seodaemun Prison History Hall, part of Seodaemun Independence Park which opened in 1992.[9]: 53  Eleven of the prison complex's original 98 buildings, including the gallows area are preserved as historical monuments.[9]: 51  The History Hall covers topics related to the prison during the Japanese colonial period and continues to serve as a memorial hall.[11]

The History Hall has been criticised for focussing almost exclusively on the colonial period, while the prison's use in the postcolonial and democratization period is largely ignored.[9]: 43–4 

During a visit to Seodaemun in August 2015, former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama knelt in front of a memorial stone as an expression of apology for Japanese war crimes in World War II.[12]

Notable prisoners

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Location

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Seodaemun Independence Park, including Seodaemun Prison, is closely located to exits 4 or 5 of the Dongnimmun Station on Seoul Subway Line 3.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Annual Report on Reforms and Progress in Chosen. Government-General of Korea. 1923.
  2. ^ Lee, Hyun Kyung (April 23, 2019). 'Difficult Heritage' in Nation Building: South Korea. ISBN 9783319663388.
  3. ^ a b Joel Lee (August 2, 2018). "Former prison lives with vestiges of Korea's patriotic past". The Korea Herald. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  4. ^ Chang, Dae-oup (January 13, 2009). Capitalist Development in Korea. ISBN 9781134046454.
  5. ^ "[3·1 운동 100주년 연중기획-독립운동가 열전 29] 치열한, 너무나 치열한 삶을 살다 간 페미니스트 독립운동가 박진홍". 매일노동뉴스 (in Korean). September 16, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "Recalling 'manse' rallies that took place within Seodaemun Prison's walls". The Korea Times. February 27, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  7. ^ "[3·1 운동 100주년 연중기획-독립운동가 열전 29] 치열한, 너무나 치열한 삶을 살다 간 페미니스트 독립운동가 박진홍". 매일노동뉴스 (in Korean). September 16, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  8. ^ For reconciliation: Textbook, Comfort women, Yasukuni shrine and Liancourt Rocks (in Japanese). Heibonsha. 2006. p. 53. ISBN 9784582702651.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Burge, Russell. "The Prison and the Postcolony: Contested Memory and the Museumification of Sŏdaemun Hyŏngmuso". The Journal of Korean Studies (1979-). 22, No. 1 (Spring 2017).
  10. ^ 인왕산 도성탐방기<2>서대문형무소역사관, 국사당, 선바위. The Hankyoreh. May 9, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
  11. ^ "Korea". 2013.
  12. ^ Hongo, Jun (August 13, 2015). "Former Prime Minister Hatoyama Kneels at Wartime Prison in Seoul". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  13. ^ "Documents on righteous armies return home in 110 years". August 15, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  14. ^ Park Si-soo (January 16, 2008). "Executed Daily head cleared by Court". The Korea Times. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  15. ^ "8 men, executed as spies, are found innocent". Hankyoreh. January 24, 2007. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
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