Seodaemun Prison, a recommended travel destination to better understand Korea.

 Travel and sightseeing do not necessarily have to travel only bright and pleasant places. Recently, travel destinations where you can feel the dark side and pain of history called dark tours are also loved.

In this sense, Seodaemun Prison in Korea can be said to be a recommended travel destination to help people understand Korea and Koreans better.

Seodaemun Prison was built at the end of the Korean Empire under the Japanese colonial rule, and for more than 80 years, it was the site of history where the suffering and national resentment of the turbulent times of our modern and modern history, and a representative oppression agency of Japanese imperialism against the Korean people's anti-Japanese independence movement.

After opening under the name Gyeongseong Prison on October 21, 1908, when our national sovereignty was taken away by the Japanese, a national independence movement against it took place across the country, and the Japanese arrested and imprisoned numerous Korean patriots. As the capacity increased, they built another prison in Gongdeok-dong, Mapo, and for this reason, it was renamed Seodaemun Prison on September 3, 1912. It was opened as the current Seodaemun Independence Park on August 15, 1992, keeping as much history of national suffering as the name change.

Currently, only seven buildings are preserved in their original form in consideration of their historical characteristics and preservation value, and among them, three Oksa buildings and the death row were designated as Historic Site No. 324. Seodaemun-gu began a sanctuary project on the historic site of Seodaemun Independence Park in 1995.

It was renovated on November 5, 1998 to commemorate the souls of patriotic martyrs who died under severe torture and oppression while fighting against Japanese invasion for their country's independence, and to make it a historic educational center for future generations.

You can download commentary guides and leaflets from the Seodaemun Prison History Museum app or website and check them in advance. After passing through an exhibition hall that introduces the history of Seodaemun Prison and a national resistance room full of prison records, when you reach the scene of disastrous torture committed on prisoners, you will feel solemn from deep down there.

Here, you can see Koreans who suffered and resisted Japan's colonial policy, not the developed image of Korea represented by kpop, movies, or Samsung. This is only 100 years ago.