Spectral Codex
서대문형무소

Seodaemun Prison

Locations
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 5.6
Shutter Speed
1/125 sec
Focal Length
18.0 mm
ISO
200
Exposure Value
11.9 EV
Download
1800 × 1200
Seodaemun prison gate.

Seodaemun Prison is not a happy place but my visit there was certainly an educational experience. It housed thousands of political prisoners over the course of most of the 20th century—many of whom lost their lives here, either through neglect, overwork (it was also a forced labour camp), or by way of the “body removal tunnel”. A memorial to many of Seodaemun’s victims can be seen in the photos below.

Seodaemun Prison Memorial Hall
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 3.5
Shutter Speed
1/60 sec
Focal Length
18.0 mm
ISO
1400
Exposure Value
9.5 EV
Download
1800 × 1200
Inside the memorial chamber.
Seodaemun Prison Memorial Hall
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 3.5
Shutter Speed
1/60 sec
Focal Length
18.0 mm
ISO
1000
Exposure Value
9.5 EV
Download
1800 × 1200
Victims of imperial aspiration.
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 3.5
Shutter Speed
1/50 sec
Focal Length
18.0 mm
ISO
3200
Exposure Value
9.3 EV
Download
1200 × 1800
Seodaemun prison cells.
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 3.8
Shutter Speed
1/60 sec
Focal Length
24.0 mm
ISO
800
Exposure Value
9.8 EV
Download
1200 × 1800
Seodaemun prison cell door.
Seodaemun Prison Cell Block
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 4
Shutter Speed
1/60 sec
Focal Length
18.0 mm
ISO
400
Exposure Value
9.9 EV
Download
1200 × 1800
Stalking the cell block.
Seodaemun Prison
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 8
Shutter Speed
1/250 sec
Focal Length
18.0 mm
ISO
100
Exposure Value
14.0 EV
Download
1800 × 1200
Seodamun prison grounds.
Built By Slaves
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 6.3
Shutter Speed
1/160 sec
Focal Length
26.0 mm
ISO
100
Exposure Value
12.6 EV
Download
1800 × 1200
Bricks imprinted with the glyph of another forced labour camp.
Seodaemun Prison Execution Chamber
Date Captured
Camera
NIKON D3100
Lens
AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II
Aperture
ƒ / 5.6
Shutter Speed
1/125 sec
Focal Length
31.0 mm
ISO
160
Exposure Value
11.9 EV
Download
1800 × 1200
Outside the execution chamber.

Read more about my experiences at Seodaemun prison in the dark side of Seoul.

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Series: South Korea 2012

A complete travelogue from one unplanned week in Seoul, South Korea. These stories are evenly divided between lengthy photo essays and brief photo galleries and are arranged in rough chronological order.

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Author

Profile photo of Alexander Synaptic, founder of Spectral Codex
Alexander Synaptic
Curator, Spectral Codex

I am a web application developer, photojournalist, urban explorer, and history enthusiast passionate about the open web and documenting my experiences on this planet. This project was founded in the early 2010s and has evolved into a sort of personal Wikipedia of places that interest me (and often the photographs I’ve taken there). I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, but spend most of my time residing in Taiwan.