Today we visited several places related to Japanese colonialism. Some believe that modernization through Japanese occupation was a good thing, but our visits to these places led us to question that notion. The main site for today’s plan was Seodaemun (West Gate) Prison History park. At the place, we saw an exhibition about what the Japanese government did for Koreans during Japanese colonialism. People were forced to live in a small rooms and sometimes a box where people even cannot sit down as a punishment. Many of the people who were incarcerated were innocent. I did not know why Koreans could not go against the Japanese, but I learned that it is hard for people to fight for their rights if they know they will be punished afterward. By observing each building in the prison, I realized how inhumane the Japanese government was toward Koreans.
Besides the prison, we went to the Wednesday Demonstration held in front of the Japanese embassy in Korea every Wednesday. I was surprised about the number of youth joining the protest. They were appealing to the Japanese government to apologize for what they did to Korean, like comfort women, by stating their personal experiences. When will the Japanese government sincerely face the problems to make a constructive future? When can they stop the demonstrations by achieving their purpose?
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