The winter of 1896/97 was extremely cold. In early January, Seoul’s prison population was a little over 210 inmates; half of them were hardened criminals, sentenced to hard labor, while another 40 or 50 were convicted of petty offenses.
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Prisons in Korea during the Joseon period were dismal places of disease, death and, in some cases, injustice. Up until the mid-1890s, many prisoners died from the horrific conditions before they could be executed. During the summer, wounds received during torture and questioning were allowed to putrefy and filled the air with the sick smell of decay. Winter brought on different torments.
The winter of 1896/97 was extremely cold. In early January, Seoul’s prison population was a little over 210 inmates; half of them were hardened criminals, sentenced to hard labor, while another 40 or 50 were convicted of petty offenses.
They were housed in cramped little cells. The wooden walls had large cracks, some over an inch wide, which allowed the wind and the elements to pass unhindered. Like the walls, the floors were riddled with cracks and holes making it nearly impossible for the prisoners to lie down and rest. Temperatures in the cells were often below freezing the entire day, and most prisoners, unless provided with clothing from their families, were dressed only in summer clothing.
One ex-prisoner, who had been incarcerated for several days over a trivial offense, was so shocked at the prison’s conditions that as soon as he was released, he went out and bought twelve suits of winter clothing and donated them to his cell. His generosity was lauded in the local press.
An editorial in The Independent — an English-language newspaper in Seoul — denounced prison conditions. It acknowledged that many people considered the plight of the prisoners to be their own making and that they “ought to suffer.” But, it argued, it is one of “the marks of civilization that a Government should show no small personal resentment against a criminal. He should be punished according to the enormity of his offense, even to death if need be, but the penalty to be bestowed should not be accompanied by additional penalties of a lesser nature like beating, starving or freezing.”
The editor of the paper was not the only one feeling pity for the prisoners’ situation.
In the first week of January, King Gojong issued an edict releasing some of the inmates. Citing the severe cold, the king ordered “the release of the prisoners from their cells, except the murderers, thieves, criminals of immoral character and political offenders,” as a show of his sympathy. Prisoners under the age of fifteen and over seventy were to be released without exemption. Only seven out of 211 prisoners were released — all children or the elderly.
The unpardoned prisoners’ plight was made even worse when their rations were reduced to only one fourth of what they were authorized. The horrid conditions led to a desperate attempt. In mid-January some of the prisoners planned a jail break.
According to the plan, the prisoners would stage a large fight in the evening and when the guards came in to break it up, the inmates would suddenly turn on the guards and kill them. But, as the old saying goes, there is no honor amongst thieves. One prisoner, who had been sentenced to one and a half year’s imprisonment with hard labor, told the guards of the plan. For his service, he was released from prison while the leaders of the plot were apparently executed. The leaders of the conspiracy were taken to the police headquarters where they were questioned (tortured) for additional information and probably executed.
But not all prison breaks failed. In 1904, eleven robbers, scheduled to be executed, managed to escape. The two officials in charge of the prison were lucky not to take their wards’ place, and were instead merely fired.
Robert Neff is a contributing writer for The Korea Times.
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