Ri In Mo

Ri In Mo (also transliterated Ri In-mo)[1] was a North Korean (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) political prisoner, who spent 40 years in a South Korean (Republic of Korea; RoK) jail.[2]

History

Described by the Korean Central News Agency as "well-known among the DPRK people as an incarnation of faith and will"[3] and "a pro-reunification patriotic fighter,"[4] Ri was born in 1917 in Kimhyonggwon County, DPRK, and was "arrested by [South Korea] while fighting as a guerilla in the area of Mt. Jiri."[3]

Following his repatriation to the DPRK, Ri was in a bad state of health, apparently due to the conditions he faced in prison.[3] However, after his health improved, Ri met up with Kim Il-sung and his suffering in prison was turned into a propaganda film by the North. However, the film's mentions of hunger strikes – and therefore the suggestion that food in RoK prisons was so abundant that one could go on hunger strike – had the undesired effect of teaching the North Koreans that life in the RoK prisons were not as bad as they had been told by their government.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Agency, Yonhap News, ed. (27 Dec 2002). North Korea Handbook. Seoul: M. E. Sharpe. p. 470. ISBN 9780765635235. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Burdick, Eddie (26 May 2010). Three Days in the Hermit Kingdom: An American Visits North Korea. McFarland. p. 300. ISBN 9780786456536. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Ri In Mo, Incarnation of Faith and Will". Korean Central News Agency. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Learning from Spirit of Ri In Mo, Pro-reunification Patriotic Fighter, Encouraged in DPRK". Korean Central News Agency. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.