Gwangbokjeol is the day that marks Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule and the restoration of its national sovereignty.
The annual celebrations once again moved and filled the people with pride this year. As part of the festivities, Seodaemun Prison was flooded with visitors.
Seodaemun Prison was built in 1908 by Japanese authorities under the name Gyeongseong Gamok to imprison independence activists.
The site has been opened to visitors as part of Seodaemun Independence Park.
The museum includes the following sections: the historical exhibition hall, the central prison building, cells, hospitals, the execution room, the corpse removal tunnel, the watchtower, the underground cell where female resistance fighter Yu Gwan Sun was tortured, and exhibition rooms.
Additionally, the museum presents exhibits in original areas such as the National Resistance Rooms, prison life, torture chambers, living conditions, the kitchen, the execution building, and the tunnel.
Inside the building, there is also the artwork “Pot With The Soul Of the Nation,” which reflects the spirit of independence and bears the names of martyred activists.
The museum is a symbolic site of the struggle for independence and democracy, bearing witness to the painful history of the Korean people.
Today, the museum, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, stands out for its role in preserving the collective memory of Korean history.
(All photos were taken by Gökçe Kızılay and Roza Borak.)