We Share - Empire of Heroes > Current Event

A senior student at Kyungsung National Women’s High school and a core member of the ‘Association of Young Women’, Choi Jeong Suk led 79 members of the secret organization at the March 1st Movement in 1919, protesting for the independence of Korea. She would subsequently be captured for political offense and be taken to the Seodaemun Prison to await her sentence.  

Opened in 1908 under the name of ‘Gyeongseong Gamok’, the penitentiary was the first modern prison in Korea. Following the orders of the Japanese Governor-General, many different forms of torture and abuse were carried out on Korean inmates during the Japanese colonial period, to the degree where many prisoners would prefer death over the cruel and harsh sufferings they faced in the prison.  

 

From teenagers to the elderly, from doctors and teachers to coachmen and workers, over 90,000 people, including Choi Jeong Suk and her colleagues, regardless of social stature and age, fought for the independence of their country and passed through the prison cells of the Seodaemun Prison.  

 

New meaning has been brought to Seodaemun Prison and it now stands as a reminder of the history of our nation’s suffering. Currently, the restored facilities and its records are on display, with many people visiting the location to learn its history and inherit the spirit of many independence activists, such as Ryu Gwan Sun, who was a central figure during the March 1st Movement, and Choi Jeong Suk.  

 

‘Empire of Heroes’ is by the Fusion Gukak group, VIDAN, that tells the story of the Seodaemun prison and with it, carries the spirit of activists from the Korean Independence Movement who strived to liberate our country in the past.