Whilst Jeff was here we did many sight seeing trips; king Sejongs statue, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Itaewon and a cat cafe but the most interesting visit for me was to Seodaemun Prison. This was a prison built in 1908 by the Koreans but during the Japanese occupation became a place to hold, torture and murder korean activists and freedom fighters. It was a great way to learn about the Japanese occupation and to what extremes they went to in capturing a whole country. Only part of the prison remains but you are able to see the main area, the cells, the watch tower, the torture area and the outbuilding were people were executed. Japan’s occupation of Korea ended after World War 2 in 1945 due to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After occupying Korea for 35 years Japan finally felt it was time to surrender to the Allied forces. This prison is just a small insight into Japanese cruelty and oppression. On your visit there you will here about people that survived and how it changed their lives forever, but you will also here about the hundreds who didn’t. In tribute to the lives lost there is a hall with pictures of the people that were executed within the prison. They stood their ground and gave their lives for national independence.
