Seodaemun Prison
| Korean spelling | |
|---|---|
| Korean alphabet : | 서대문 형무소 |
| Hanja : | 西 大門 刑 務 所 |
| Revised Romanization : | Seodaemun Hyeongmuso |
| McCune-Reischauer : | Sŏdaemunhyŏngmuso |
The Seodaemun Prison is a former detention center in Seodaemun-gu , a district of Seoul , which remains used as a memorial today. The prison was established on October 21, 1908 under the name Gyeongseong Gamok . In 1923 the name was changed to Seodaemun Prison. During the Japanese rule , it was used to imprison independence fighters. Torture and executions took place in the prison. In 1919 the number of inmates increased dramatically as a result of the March 1st Movement . About 3,000 people were new inmates at Seodaemun Prison, including famous Korean independence activist Ryu Gwansun . She died there as a result of torture. Colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula officially ended with the surrender of Japan on August 15, 1945. After the liberation, many prisoners were released from captivity. The Republic of Korea was founded in 1948. After that, the Seodaemun prison served the military dictatorships as a prison, mainly for political prisoners, until the end of the 1980s. In 1998 the Seodaemun Prison Memorial was opened at this location.
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Coordinates: 37 ° 34 ′ 27.9 ″ N , 126 ° 57 ′ 23.9 ″ E