Recently I started
watching a
new Korean drama called “이몽”
(Imong)- English title “Different Dreams”, a story based on the independence
movement of Korea during the 1930s'. It seems Korean drama makers have taken a
new pathway for Korean Dramas by re-creating the independence movement during
the Japanese colonial rule. "Mr Sunshine", another drama based on
this period became a huge hit among the Korean and foreign drama viewers. These
dramas are a good way of reminding and refreshing the memories of the hardships
endured by the previous generations.
When I went
to visit “Seodaemun Prison History Museum”, I got
a chance to glimpse at the real world of those bygone days. Even though
it is
packed into a relatively small area today, once you pass the main
entrance beside the watch tower, you can instantly feel that you
have entered an area teeming with memories and stories.
Let me take
you to some places inside the Seodaemun Prison, which touched my heart so
dearly.
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| Main Entrance and Watch Tower |
Women’s Prison (여옥사)
This is the
small building towards the left-hand side of the entrance. It was the first
building I visited once inside the prison premises. It is a small building with
tiny prison cubicles, where the ruling government imprisoned the female
independence activists. The mirror cubicle, which creates an infinite number of
reflections of their black and white photos, is like a silent monument that
tries to preserve their memories for a thousand years to come.
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Women's Prison
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| Mirror Cubicle |
Inside the
women’s prison, the
cubicle number 8 is given special attention, since it is the place where
famous freedom fighter Yu
Gwan Sun was
held as a prisoner. She
is remembered as a leading freedom fighter, who did not betray the
independence movement despite severe torture and beatings at the hands of the
Japanese prison officials. She eventually died inside the Seodaemun prison at
the young age of 17 due to physical injuries of torture. Inside this small
cubicle, you can see her photos and the photos of her contemporary inmates at
the prison.
It is
empowering to see the significant participation of women in the independence
movement in Korea.
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Yu Gwan Sun and Cubicle 8
Memorial Hall (수형기기록표)
The next
place that left a deep impression on my mind is the large hall where all the
walls are adorned from the roof to floor with prisoners' old records with their
photos. In fact, Seodaemun prison is considered the largest prison among the
network of prisons operated by the Japanese colonial rulers. The prison records
of the vast number of prisoners who were incarcerated at Seodaemun prison are
now shown to the public in this photo memorial hall.
But the most sorrowful was the prisoner
records with no photos of the respective person. Only their names are
remembered but not their faces. They have become faceless memories of the sad
past.
Photo Records of Prisoners
Faceless Records of Prisoners
Living Memories of
Torture (지하고문실)
Down in the basement of the main building, the infamous torture chamber now displays the dummies of torture scenes and a number of old torture equipment and tools. But none of these displays was able to impart the true meaning of torture as clearly as the video display of the real-life survivors of that period. Now very much old (some have even passed away after making the video), these survivors carried the marks of that torture during their whole life into 80-90 years. Severely disfigured hands, feet and faces wordlessly describe the indescribable horror they faced at the prison.
Torture Chambers
Videos of Survivors of Seodaemun Prison
Large Photo Banner
Display of Pioneers of Independence Movement
The day I
visited the Seodaemun Prison, the outside of main prison buildings were
displaying huge photo banners of pioneers of Independence Movement. Among the
pictures, I recognized some characters introduced in the “Imong” drama that I
mentioned above. The enlarged pictures gave a feeling that these personalities
indeed left greater than life, giant-size impact in the course of history.
Wailing Poplar and Execution Building (통곡의 미루 나무)
Another noteworthy landmark of the premises is the Wailing Poplar near the execution building. The poplar was planted here during 1923 along with the construction of the execution building. It is said that independence activists while being taken inside the execution building, grabbed this poplar tree and cried because they failed to achieve their dream of freedom. The tree still stands in the same spot, now enjoying the cool breeze of freedom while holding on to the memories of those bitter tears. Inside the execution building taking photos was prohibited so I could not take a picture of the noose and the wooden lever mechanisms of the execution building and the viewing platform.
Wailing Poplar
Today, Seodaemun Prison History Museum is a place of learning for the young Koreans about the price their previous generations had to pay for independence. The day I visited the place, there were a lot of school age students accompanied by their teachers visiting the Prison Museum. From the explanations that I heard here and there, the teachers were trying their best to instil the historical awareness in the students. Under the bright sunlight of freedom and modernization, it is difficult to fathom the bleak hardships of those days. But the Prison Hall Museum tries to convey at least an ounce of those painful memories to the present generation.
I hope the present generations, notwithstanding the nationality, can learn from the sad past displayed at the Museum. Even though we take freedom and peace for granted, when those values are lost, people have to pay a huge price to regain that freedom and peace. Freedom and Peace has a price tag that can not be measured. That is why it is important to preserve those virtues when we have it.
If you visit Seoul one day and Korean history is your forte, then I recommend you take a chance to visit the Seodaemun Prison History Museum. Even though it now seems small in area size, it took me a good part of a day to explore the museum properly.
Here is the
google map location to the place.
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