If you were to ask a random person on the street what words they link to when they think of Korea they would probably say: Psy, kpop, LG or Samsung. Indeed, South Korea is now enjoying one of its most glorifying periods, but there was a time where its people had a hard time speaking their true thoughts and being their true selves. And that is the Japanese colonization period.
Seodamun Prison History Hall preserved and displays the struggles of the country to achieve independence and democracy. Inside the halls, there were dolls that imitated what the independence activists and pro-democracy activities had to go through under the Japanese rule.
A gloomy day - just the perfect weather for such a heavy topic.
Originally designed to accommodate 500 people, there was a point where 3500 inmates where held captive in the prison with no heat.
This was where the Japanese used to get the dead bodies out of the walled prison.
A room where the officials would watch the hanging of an individual as if it was a play or something.
Watchtower - just in case anyone decides to escape.
A man's lonely road to independence.
Just kidding, this random guy just so happened to be in my shot of the Independence Gate.
The content of the whole museum was so heart heavy and painful to see even if they were only dolls reenacting the scenes. Imagine the pain of the people who had to go through all these tortures and sufferings! There were a lot of places that we weren't allowed to take pictures, though adequate English explanation were given. An interesting thing that I found is the way they totally excluded the fact that Koreans used this prison as well after gaining independence. I'm not sure if they practiced the same amount of torture inside the buildings but it just seemed they are a tiny bit biased on this point. Overall, the museum was very interesting to go through, though it could be uneasy for some people.
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