In 1951, Kim Sun-myung, a 26-year old laborer originally from South Korea, serves as a soldier in the People's Army of North Korea. He gets arrested near the 38th Parallel by the South. He is called a spy and tortured severely. In 1953, a court martial sentences him to death but in the retrial in 1954, the sentence gets commuted to a life term. In 1993, a civilian government is elected for the first time, and in 1995, under pressure from human rights organizations around the ...more

In 1951, Kim Sun-myung, a 26-year old laborer originally from South Korea, serves as a soldier in the People's Army of North Korea. He gets arrested near the 38th Parallel by the South. He is called a spy and tortured severely. In 1953, a court martial sentences him to death but in the retrial in 1954, the sentence gets commuted to a life term. In 1993, a civilian government is elected for the first time, and in 1995, under pressure from human rights organizations around the world, the government announces a special release of the world's longest-serving political prisoner, Kim Sun-myung.
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