I have confirmed that Seodaemun continued long after the colonial period, was the site of more torture, more executions, and was far more crowded with prisoners after 1945 than before. I have come across several newspaper articles from the early postwar period decrying the horrible conditions in the prison. Most of the prisoners were not regular criminals, and I don’t know the statistics for the Japanese colonial period, but suspected leftists.

There are unique problems to imperialism that are worth discussing, but I think that if the museum wants to talk about the institution’s history of torture and death – tell the whole story that includes the horrors of the postwar period. No one has killed more Koreans in the 20th century than the Koreans and that should be studied side by side and with great care alongside the darker aspects of colonial rule by the Japanese. Oh wait, how could I forget, I guess the US probably killed the most in their bombing campaigns.

The full history of the horrors and evolution of Seodaemun Prison is a PhD thesis waiting to be written…

I am reading a book on Korea’s modern history called “Korea’s Place In the Sun,” written by Bruce Cumings. It is very well written, and made me realize how little I knew about Korea’s history (except the annexation and occupation by Japan), which …

I lived a few minutes away from Sôdaemun Prison and always meant to go there but never did. Now I’m quite glad.

Keep up the excellent Korean posts Muninn. (화이팅!)