Seodaemun Prison History Hall from archive

pencil & watercolor

I sketched this one while I was caring my mother in law at the Seran Hospiral located across the Independence Park next to the Seodaemun Prison History Hall on 2001. The scenery was beautiful with colored leaves. It would be same as before if I could see through the windows of the hospital.

a sketch from the Western Gate Prison

I sketched a few pieces from the Western Gate Prison, but this is the only one looks comprehensible. overall the site was very historic plus ultra-depressing. i know we have to know what happened in the past and learn especially in the season like that independence week, but it's pretty hard to stare at the actual execution house and the trees the prisoners cried on.

kids ran around chasing each other on where it used to be prisoners exercise ground.

Women's cell in Seodaemun Prison and History Hall, Seoul

Women's cell in Seodaemun Prison, pen, watercolor, 25 x 25 cm

On June 2009 I sketched the above one at Seodamun Prison located near Seodaemun Independence Park, Seoul. There the Japanese style building caught my eye. I looked for the information about the building. It was built on 1916 under the Japanese colonial ruling period. Under the ground floor there were four women's cells to the height of 1.48 m that the prisoner couldn't stand upright. The patriot Ryu Kwan-soon died there. The basement was buried on 1934 but restored on 1992. I wanted to go there again some day to sketch and feel our painful history.  I could visit again with Seoul Urban Sketchers this month. We harvested a lot of sketches thanks to the true patriots fighted for the national independence.

Seodaemun Prison History Hall

August Sketchcrawl II at Seodaemun Prison History Hall

The above two drawings were drawn by Odnoo from Mongolia,

who studies architecture at university in Mongolia.

prison building drawn by new comer, Kim Hye Ran, colored pencils

Kim Hye Ran with children who visited the prison

The above four drawings were drawn by Park Ji Woong.

The above five drawings(30 x 40 cm) were drawn by Yoo Byung Hwa.

charcoal, chalks, pen, pencil and watercolor

Thirteen sketchers including Odnoo from Mongolia and a new comer Kim Hye Ran,  participated in today's sketching. We enjoyed the meeting and sketching together in the historical place. It was very meaningful for us to sketch the prison buildings celebrating the 66th anniversary of the Independence day of Korea, August 15, 1945, where lots of patriots had died for the independence of nation. Thank you all!

sketches at the Seodaemun Prison History Hall

Execution building

tents outside of prison building  for visitors on the Independence Day of Korea,

Aug. 15, the 66th anniversary day

National flag hung in the Exhibition building

The women's prison in the background was under repairing, where the patriot Rhu Gwan Soon died.