 View ofSeodaemun Prison History Hall from theSeodaemun Independence Park | |
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| Established |
|
|---|---|
| Type | Memorial museum |
| Seodaemun Prison History Hall | |
| Hangul | 서대문형무소역사관 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 西大門刑務所歷史觀 |
| RR | Seodaemun hyeongmuso yeoksagwan |
| MR | Sŏdaemun hyŏngmuso yŏksagwan |
| Original name | |
| Hangul | 경성감옥 |
| Hanja | 京城監獄 |
| RR | Gyeongseong gamok |
| MR | Kyŏngsŏng kamok |
| Other names | |
| Hangul | 서울형무소; 서울교도소; 서울구치소 |
| Hanja | 서울刑務所; 서울矯導所; 서울拘置所 |
| Lit. | Seoul Prison; Seoul Correctional Institute; Seoul Detention Center |
| RR | Seoul hyeongmuso; Seoul gyodoso; Seoul guchiso |
| MR | Sŏul hyŏngmuso; Sŏul kyodoso; Sŏul kuch'iso |
Seodaemun Prison History Hall (Korean: 서대문형무소역사관) is a museum and formerprison inSeodaemun District,Seoul,South Korea. Construction of this building began byImperial Japan in 1907.
The prison was opened on October 21, 1908, under the nameGyeongseong Gamok. During the early part of the Japanese colonial period it was known asKeijo Prison[1] (Keijō Kangoku). Its name was changed toSeodaemun Prison in 1923, and it later had several other names.[2] During Korea under Japanese rule, many persons who opposed violences of Imperial Japan, were tortured or executed by Imperial Japan at this place.[3][4]
The prison was used during theJapanese colonial period to imprison Korean independence activists. It could originally hold around 500 inmates.[5] It had a separate facility for women and young girls. In 1911, notable activistKim Ku was imprisoned here. In 1919, shortly after theMarch First Movement, the number of imprisoned increased drastically.[6] About 3,000 activists were held here.[5] Among the imprisoned after the March 1 Movement wasYu 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.[7] There are statues of the friendsLee Hyo-jeong and Park Jin-hong reunited[8] in one of the women's prison cells.[9]
Shortly before the end of the colonial period in 1945, the number of prisoners was 2,980.[10]
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After liberation, the prison was used by the South Korean government, and between 1945 and 1950 the prison population tripled.[11]: 35
WhenNorth Korean forcescaptured 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 theyabandoned Seoul in late September 1950.[11]: 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.[11]: 34
In 1983 theChun Doo-hwan government decided to move the detention center out of central Seoul in preparation for the1988 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.[11]: 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.[11]: 41
The prison was decommissioned and inmates were transferred to theSeoul Detention Center inUiwang,Gyeonggi Province by the end of 1987.[12]
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.[11]: 47–8 Protests over the retention or demolition of the prison's outer wall in 1990 delayed redevelopment for several months.[11]: 49
On 5 November 1998, the site was opened as the Seodaemun Prison History Hall, part ofSeodaemun Independence Park which opened in 1992.[11]: 53 Eleven of the prison complex's original 98 buildings, including the gallows area are preserved as historical monuments.[11]: 51 The History Hall covers topics related to the prison during the Japanese colonial period and continues to serve as a memorial hall.[13]
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.[11]: 43–4
During a visit to Seodaemun in August 2015, formerJapanese prime ministerYukio Hatoyama knelt in front of a memorial stone as an expression of apology forJapanese war crimes inWorld War II.[14]
Seodaemun Independence Park, including Seodaemun Prison, is located close to exits 4 and 5 of theDongnimmun Station onSeoul Subway Line 3.
| International | |
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| National | |
37°34′28″N126°57′24″E / 37.57442°N 126.95663°E /37.57442; 126.95663
