Even After Liberation, This Prison Held Political Prisoners

This site is often remembered solely for imprisoning anti-Japanese independence fighters, but the fact that it held political prisoners under Korea's own authoritarian governments for decades after liberation is comparatively less well known.

Key takeaways

This facility kept operating under changing names even after liberation, and during Korea's authoritarian eras, it held prisoners charged with political dissent. Fact A prominent example: during the fabricated 1980 case in which the "New Military" junta accused Kim Dae-jung — later a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and President of South Korea — of conspiring to incite rebellion, Kim was held at the Seoul Detention Center (the facility's name at the time) on this same site. Fact

The ones who benefit are the simplified historical narrative that treats this space only as a symbol of resistance during Japan's colonial occupation. What gets comparatively obscured is the history of repeated political repression that continued even after liberation. And what gets lost as a result is the fact that "independence," as a word, actually represented a far more complicated and continuous struggle than the simplified version suggests.

What to look for on site

Whether — and how extensively — the exhibits cover the post-liberation period
The difference in exhibition space devoted to the colonial period versus modern history
Records related to political prisoners held here (check exhibition status)

A structural question worth carrying with you

The "independence" we remember at this site — independence from when, and for whom? FIT TRIP won't answer that for you. But it's worth carrying the question as you walk.