Nationality North Korean | Name Ri In-mo | |
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Known for Political prisoner jailed by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) Died June 16, 2007, Pyongyang, North Korea | ||
Ri In-mo (Chosŏn'gŭl: 리인모; 24 August 1917 - 16 June 2007) was a political prisoner from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). He spent 40 years in jail and under restriction of freedom in the Republic of Korea (South Korea).
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History
Described by the Korean Central News Agency as "well-known among the DPRK people as an incarnation of faith and will" and "a pro-reunification patriotic fighter," Ri was born in 1917 in Kimhyonggwon County, DPRK. He was "arrested by [South Korea] while fighting as a guerilla in the area of Mt. Jiri" in January 1952 while serving as a war correspondent during the Korean War. Ri served 34 years in prison in South Korea.
Ri was released in 1988 but South Korean authorities continued to restrict his activities. He was repatriated to the DPRK in March 1993 and was reunited with his wife and daughter. Following his repatriation, Ri was in ill health, apparently due to the conditions he experienced in prison. He underwent medical treatment in the United States in 1996. After his health improved, his suffering in prison was turned into a propaganda film by North Korea. Ri's numerous public appearance made him popular in 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.
Ri died on 16 June 2007 and was given a hero's funeral. A statue was erected in his honor in Pyongyang the following year.