Namyeong-dong Human Rights Center, Korean National Police Agency, Human rights memorial in Yongsan District, Seoul, South Korea
The Namyeong-dong Human Rights Center of the Korean National Police Agency is a memorial in Seoul housed in a seven-story building that documents the history of police violence and suppression. The rooms display photographs, artifacts, and personal belongings that make detention conditions and interrogation methods during the authoritarian period understandable.
The building served as a police station where political suspects were interrogated until 1987. After the death of student Park Jong-chul in January of that year, a protest movement emerged that eventually led to democratic reforms across the country.
The name refers to the district where the building has stood for decades and now functions as a place of remembrance for victims of state violence. School groups and visitors use the rooms to understand the methods of suppression that no longer exist today.
The nearest subway station is about a ten-minute walk away and makes access easy from all parts of the city. The exhibition rooms are spread across several floors, so the tour can take between one and two hours depending on interest.
Some of the interrogation rooms have been left in their original state and show the surveillance equipment used during questioning. Visitors can understand in these rooms how the interrogations took place and what atmosphere the detainees experienced there.
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