Seodaemun Prison

The perfect day to visit prison is one cloaked in rain. Out the umbrellas came, as our soaked shoes led us to the site of death. Seodaemun Prison was used to hold Korean nationals during Japan's imperial rule.

Activists and leaders fighting for independence were taken there to supress national voices with torture pains. Inside we found images plastered on ID cards of the prison stays.

In the basement a wax statue hangs from its feet. A Japanese guard holds a tea-pot above the body, dripping water on its face. Another room shows a bloody stick used in fingernail torture. A spiked box cage sits near holding lockers curved inwards to prevent standing, sitting, and all other moves.

Outside we walked down the halls of tiny cells as another wax guard looked down from above. In other buildings we learned of the factories prisoners worked 14 hour days in and the wood blocks they'd have to jump naked over on the way to prove they had no weapons hidden up the ass.

Last was the execution room. A little theatre with three rows of seats and curtains to be drawn. The nuse hung from the ceiling, never to be used again. And as we walked past the tunnel the bodies were taken down, our voices rang through it and out across the yard.

At the exit there were not any guards.