Field Trip to Prison

I like to reward myself for reading, hiking, and studying. If I persevere through a long and difficult book or finish a strenuous hike--be it 4 hours or 4 days--I earn a fancy drink at a nice coffee shop. It doesn't sound like much, but it gets better... If I finish a Korean book--or a Korean grammar book, in this case (I make the rules, so I can bend them^^)-- I earn an additional Korean book plus a field trip! :-)

So last night after finishing my Korean grammar book, I reached for the Lonely Planet guidebook and settled on a place to spend my Saturday: prison!

I'd been wanting to visit Seodaemun Historical Prison since last semester when my students were reading "When My Name Was Keoko," a historical fiction story of Japanese colonization of Korea from 1910-1945. During that era, many Korean patriots and freedom fighters were imprisoned, tortured, and executed at Seodaemun Prison. The prison was still in use until 1987, and even after the Korean War, during the rule of despot Park Chung-Hee, activists for democracy were jailed, beaten, and killed there. If it doesn't sound like a pleasant place to visit, you would be right and you would be wrong.

The first thing I noticed upon approaching the high brick wall around the prison was classical music coming from speakers all around the perimeter. With the lawn perfectly manicured and strains of orchestra music drifting about, I had the impression I was strolling through a park. But the museum exhibits and survivors' video testimonies were anything but lighthearted, and the stories of brutality made my throat swell painful with tears held back. On the bright side, nearly all the exhibits had English translations (perfect English, even!), the tour course was well-marked, and the buildings and grounds well-maintained. Take a look?

The Japanese built this tunnel to secretly carry out the dead bodies of prisoners.

One Seodaemun survivor, his face and one hand disfigured from torture sustained during colonization, said he was happy now "because the people of Korea are all happy." Judging from this picture, taken a hundred yards from the old prison, it would seem so.