On the first day of this month the Seodaemun Prison History Hall was filled with Koreans cheering to mark the March 1st civil movement that had swept the nation 95 years ago.

Seodaemun Prison was where Korean freedom activists were jailed and tortured during the Japanese colonial occupation of Korea. Standing where the prison used to be, current day participants proudly waved small Korean flags and marched the 400 meters from the museum entrance to Dongnipmun독립문 or Independence Gate.

(Woman 1) I came to defend our independence. It’s so touching and awe-inspiring. This event made me think of independence fighter Yu Gwan-sun유관순.
(Man 1) I’m here because I’m Korean and it’s a meaningful day when Koreans rose up against the Japanese rule. I hope Korea will develop more and also become more prosperous.
(Woman 2) I’m thinking about all those people who sacrificed themselves to restore Korea’s sovereignty.



March 1st, 1919…It was the day when Korea declared its independence to the world. Tens of thousands of fearless Koreans all over the country must have faced brutal Japanese oppressors and shouted out their fervent wishes for Korea’s freedom. No amount of physical danger could have overwhelmed the anger and grief of oppressed Koreans. To those who had to endure the humiliation of being subjected to Japan’s colonial rule, not even the guns and swords of the Japanese military were intimidating enough to drive them away. So in the month of March, Koreans celebrate the fiery resolve of resistance forces 95 years ago at the very site where the spirits of freedom fighters still seem to linger.

The Seodaemun Prison History Hall is located in Independence Park in western Seoul. During the Japanese occupation era, roughly 40 thousand Korean independence activists had been imprisoned in Seodaemun Prison and some 900 of them had died here. It is a place filled with the echoing spirits of martyred freedom fighters who had probably wished for Korea’s independence to their last breaths. The prison was built in 1908, in the waning years of the Korean Empire, to lock up Koreans who had fought to restore Korea’s sovereignty. Here’s Mr. Kim Tae-dong, one of the museum’s resident researchers, to explain more about the prison’s history.

Seodaemun Prison was first built in 1908 and had undergone many expansions until 1923. At the time of its opening, in 1908, 500 people were imprisoned, but by 1923 the prison population swelled to 3,000. In 1936 a separate building for prisoners awaiting trial was built nearby. You can see how vast the prison compound was by looking at the model. There were some 60 buildings in the compound, which measured more than 1 square kilometer. Only a quarter of the area is preserved to this day.

The prison was located at a critical transportation point, linking the city’s center and the outlying areas. Yeongeun Gate and Mohwagwan, where Chinese diplomats were received, were situated in the neighborhood, a telling sign that the Seodaemun area had been a very busy and prosperous part of the city. Japanese colonial authorities had their own reasons for building a prison at such an important location. Here’s Mr. Kim Tae-dong of the Seodaemun Prison History Hall again.

The area was a transportation hub, even before the prison opened here. It was not the right place to build a prison. But the Japanese authorities built one here, because its presence could strike fear in people’s hearts and convey the image of iron-fisted rule.

At the gate of the museum compound stands a 10-meter-high watchtower, from where Japanese guards would have kept their eyes on the prisoners. Inside the building, the security department marks the beginning of the museum’s exhibitions. The department takes up three floors in all – basement, first and second floors – and features permanent exhibitions on the history of Seodaemun Prison and Korea’s independence movement. It’s eerie to read the descriptions of brutal torture that were committed in that very place.

A sign that reads “80 Years toward Freedom and Peace” hangs over the entrance to the permanent exhibition hall, where the developments leading to Japan’s forced annexation of Korea in 1910 are shown in full display. The Japanese concluded an unfair treaty with Korea in 1907, taking away Korea’s judicial rights and authority over its correctional system. The first thing the Japanese occupiers did was to build Seodaemun Prison.



The Japanese built 28 prisons during its occupation of Korea, starting with Seodaemun Prison. They built a prison in the biggest city of each province. Prisons are generally built in sparsely populated areas or outside city limits, because prisons are not pleasant facilities to have in a neighborhood. But the Japanese chose only big cities to build their prisons. The locations of prisons demonstrate the fact that the Japanese built these facilities to colonize Korea and plant fear in people’s minds.

Back then Korea’s population numbered roughly 18.8 million. At the peak of Japan’s colonial rule almost 6.1 million Koreans were said to have been jailed. That means that one in every three Koreans was held in prison. Visitors can probably feel the oppressive atmosphere of the prison from the high chairs for guards and the black rubber shoes worn by prisoners displayed in the first floor exhibition hall. Here’s Kim Tae-dong of Seodaemun Prison History Hall again.

In the second floor exhibition hall there are three zones, each one representing 10 years of Korea’s independence movement, from 1910 to 1945. The structural layout is kept as it were nearly a century ago, so the stairs are narrow and steep.

The history of Korea’s independence movement is arranged in a way that is easy to understand and inspiring.

The first zone features the stories of civilian leaders who had opposed Japan’s colonization. You can see the names of the first three leaders who had died in Seodaemun Prison, and their followers. This zone deals with the time period between 1910, when Korea was forcibly annexed, and 1919, the year of the March 1st Movement. A large number of the patriots who died in Seodaemun Prison were civilian army leaders, so this exhibit area devoted to civilian armies is an important part of the museum.

Some of the displayed items can be quite gruesome. There is a head cover made of straw called “yongsu용수” in display. It was used to cover the head of a resistance leader being taken to Seodaemun Prison so that ordinary citizens wouldn’t be able to see his face. There are also physical records of inmates, which included not only their photos but noticeable facial features, like a mole, skin color, and even bald spots.

There is a remembrance room on the way from No. 1 exhibition room to No. 2 exhibition room. The walls are completely covered with prison records, a total of 6,624 sheets for 5,500 inmates. The faces on the records scarred with swollen eyes, black and blue bruises, and twisted lips. One of the records is that of famed independence activist Dosan An Chang-ho. Here’s Kim Tae-dong of Seodaemun Prison History Hall to tell us more.

An Chang-ho was one of the more famous inmates of Seodaemun Prison. You can tell how difficult his life in prison was by the changes shown in his face. He was jailed here twice. You can see that he looked well in the first picture, but for his second time in prison he looked like a completely different person. By the time the third picture was taken, he was released from prison for being sick and unconscious. You can tell from the deteriorating changes in An Chang-ho’s photos how horrible the life in prison was.

Visitors arrive at the torture room at the end the narrow and steep stairs. The room is dank and gloomy for being in the basement, and the creepy atmosphere of the prison gives you shivers even in March. Here’s Kim Tae-dong of Seodaemun Prison History Hall again.

There were reportedly 100 different torture methods, one of them being the infamous water torture. The torture device is displayed on one side and a caption explains why the Japanese employed torture in questioning Korean activists. It is said that one of the easiest way to control people during colonization is through torture. So when Korean activists were sent to Seodaemun Prison, they were brought to this torture chamber to break them physically and psychologically so that they would never again fight for Korea’s independence.

Across from the torture chamber are temporary holding cells and interview rooms. The holding cells were right next to the interview room, so that those held in the cells could hear the screams and sobs coming from the interview rooms. It was a ploy to scare them and make them vulnerable before interviewing. Other vile torture methods included sticking a needle under the fingernails and locking a person inside a box with spike-covered interior or in a standing coffin.



The standing coffin torture was a very unusual torturing method. It looks like an ordinary coffin, only narrower to prevent even a slight movement. When a person is locked inside for a long period of time, the person’s muscles and joints become really stiff and eventually his health deteriorates dramatically. The Japanese prison guards wouldn’t let him out until he confessed. This was a notorious torture device.

Young students experiencing the standing coffin torture would come out truly frightened.

Besides the security department the main building houses three prison cells.

The cell floors are wooden and there is no heating or cooling system. There isn’t even a toilet, so the inmates had to use a bucket. Cell No. 12 was for solitary confinement. The windowless room was called “the dark room” because no light was allowed in 24 hours a day. The only time these prisoners were let outside their cells was to work in the prison factory.

Inmates produced military supplies at the factory. They had to work more than 10 hours a day and the only times they could rest was a 30-minute mealtime and one 15-minute break. But even that meager respite was not allowed during summer with more workable daylight hours.

Now visitors are headed toward the women’s prison. This was where the famed Yu Gwan-sun and other female independence activists were held. It was built in 1918 and remained in use until 1979. The women’s prison was restored based on the original blueprint discovered in 2009 and opened for tourists just last year. Composed of eight cells, the building is now an exhibition hall featuring the female inmate’s prison records and their life stories.

(Woman 1) I was horrified. The whole place is creepy. I saw a video of an old woman who said that death was preferred over torture. It gave me the shivers.
(Man 1) I realized that our ancestors’ sacrifice made our current lives possible. I am grateful and was deeply moved. I want to say thanks to our ancestors.
(Woman 2) My heart was breaking. Japan keeps distorting history and making outrageous and hurtful remarks without really apologizing for the past. I wish Japanese people would come and see this and realize what really went on.

Korea is working hard to register Seodaemun Prison as a UNESCO World Heritage. If this heinous relic of Japan’s imperial ambitions is recognized as a world cultural heritage, it could proclaim to the world the true value of freedom and peace.