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.

In my APT

Seoul Okjeong Elementary School

a vegetable garden

My house near , 75's old man digging the soil a vegetable  garden

for some grow

Watercolor paintings at Seodaemun Prison History Hall

Last saturday, I painted in watercolor on the subject of prison with Seoul urban sketchers. All of us had a pleasant sketch time in a harmonious atmosphere. My watercolor paintings of the day are as follows.

A week ago the Independence Day, Aug.15th, I made on-the-spot survey of the present condition of this Prison History Hall, sketching various types of building with red bricks. Some sketches on the very day are as follows.

The Seodaemun Prison History Hall is not only well-known as a historical site, but useful to draw buildings of red bricks clustered close together. For our sketchers, Seodaemun Independence Park is a quite suitable place to draw various kinds of the old and new subjects.

sketches around Gwangwhamun

at street of Kukidong

national flag at Sajigdong

blue building at Sajigdong

shoe-shiner at Gwangwhamun

pencil, pen, chalks, A 4 sketchbook

The blue building which I drew using watercolor before looks very nice to me. This time I used chalks. And I began the bottom one when the shoeshiner was away. While drawing it he came back so I added him. He didn't feel bad about sketching him while some  didn't permit to draw the scene. Before I finished this he went away carrying the shined shoes to the owners. How he worked merrily smiling, I felt glad too.

at Seodaemun prison History Hall

늦은시간에 가서 즐겁게 스케치 했습니다.
아침부터 오후 늦게까지 애쓰시는데 늘 늦게 가서 죄송합니다.
스케치하는 즐거움도 있지만 그동안 가보지 못한 서울의
구석구석을 다니는 즐거움도 큰 것 같습니다.
벌써 다음 스케치가 기다려 집니다...

ASAF Exhibition(hongik university)

exhibition universty student & young man of Asia

at Seodaemun prison History Hall

Seodaemun Prison History