Tourism

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Tuoi Seng Genocide Musuem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum

Questions :

What is history of the building?
Why is this museum unique?

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a museum in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The site is a former high school which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. Tuol Sleng in Khmer; [tuəl slaeŋ] means "Hill of the Poisonous Trees" or "Strychnine Hill". In 1979, the prison was uncovered by the invading Vietnamese army. In 1980, the prison was reopened by the government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea as a historical museum memorializing the actions of the Khmer Rouge regime.

The buildings at Tuol Sleng are preserved as they were left when the Khmer Rouge were driven out in 1979. The regime kept extensive records, including thousands of photographs. Several rooms of the museum are now lined, floor to ceiling, with black and white photographs of some of the estimated 20,000 prisoners who passed through the prison.

Other rooms contain only a rusting iron bedframe, beneath a black and white photograph showing the room as it was found by the Vietnamese. In each photograph, the mutilated body of a prisoner is chained to the bed, killed by his fleeing captors only hours before the prison was captured. Other rooms preserve leg-irons and instruments of torture. They are accompanied by paintings by former inmate Vann Nath showing people being tortured, which were added by the post-Khmer Rouge regime installed by the Vietnamese in 1979.

The museum is perhaps best known for having housed the "skull map", a huge map of Cambodia composed of 300 skulls and other bones found by the Vietnamese during their occupation of Cambodia, to serve as a reminder of what happened at the prison. The map was dismantled in 2002, but the skulls of some victims are still on display in shelves in the museum.

Today, the museum is open to the public, and along with the Choeung Ek Memorial (The Killing Fields), is included as a point of interest for those visiting Cambodia. Despite the disturbing images it contains, the museum is visited by large parties of Cambodian school children.

A number of images from Tuol Sleng are featured in the 1992 Ron Fricke film Baraka.

Sources From:

1. Wikipedia :Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum

2. S-21 Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum: Former Prison

http://www.eyescoffee.com/s21/index.php

Labels: Angeline and Yee Jen

10:30

16 Comments:

a cultural- historical attraction that reflects the war crime of the Khmer Rouge
Anh Thu

By Anonymous, at January 15, 2010 at 12:56 PM

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

By Anonymous, at January 15, 2010 at 12:57 PM

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

By Nguyen Tu Anh and Pham Thi Hong, at January 15, 2010 at 1:09 PM

cultural-historical attractions, and it makes this place very unique, especially the 'skull map'
Cynthia and Hien

By Anonymous, at January 15, 2010 at 1:10 PM

Agree that it is a culture-historical attractions.

By Yee Jen, at January 15, 2010 at 1:20 PM

We think that this should be categorized as dark, since it is very depressing and full of sorrow. It is related to death and suffering. We think that is also a cultural-historical attraction it happened a long time ago and it gives the tourists an insight to what happened back then in Khmer Rouge's time.

By Mai Seto & Teri Ang, at January 15, 2010 at 1:21 PM

This should be a dark destination which reflects the time of Khmer Rouge which had resulted in the 20,000 death .

By Pham Thi Hong, at January 18, 2010 at 11:00 AM

i agree with mai and terry. And can it also be an education-based tourism (the history of Khmer Rouge's time)?

Angeline

By Anonymous, at January 18, 2010 at 11:02 AM

Well, i do agree that this museum is a cultural-historical attraction. ^_^

By Miuzzel MHH, at January 18, 2010 at 11:03 AM

it is a cultural-historical attraction as it educates people about the Khmer Rouge's time

By Suhmunyik's ♥, at January 18, 2010 at 11:04 AM

i also agree with the idea that it is a cultural-historical attraction.but can it also be classified as an educational attraction as it is open for everyone so school tours can be made here to learn more especially on history of phnom penh.However,it is kind of morbid to visit but i think it will be very "inspiring"

eleanor

By Anonymous, at January 18, 2010 at 11:09 AM

Yes, i agree that it is a historical attraction. But culture? If that is an incident that happened in the past,i don't think that it should be counted as a culture, especially when people definitely do not practice that 'culture' now.

By Cher Syn, at January 18, 2010 at 11:14 AM

Yea true. It can also be educational attraction. We can learn more about the people in Cambodia especially the prisoners that used to stay there. It can also teach us the history behind of it.

By Yee Jen, at January 18, 2010 at 11:16 AM

Yes, I think you all have valid points. It is cultural/historical tourism and can be further classified as dark tourism. The two categories are not necessary at the same level. Dark tourism can be a sub-category.

Education tourism is more for students. An example would be a student exchange programme, or "study in America" programme. It could also be an overseas internship in a hospital environment. I wouldn't classify this attraction under education tourism.

By Unknown, at January 18, 2010 at 11:17 AM

Conclusion : historical, dark tourism

By Teri, at January 20, 2010 at 10:29 AM