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South Korean prison offers escape from the demands of daily life

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Thomas Levinson
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Mar 2, 2019

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Park Hye-ri, 28, a startup business program manager, puts her mobile phone outside a cell of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, November 10, 2018.
Since 2013, the “Prison Inside Me” facility in northeast Hongcheon has hosted more than 2,000 “inmates,” many of them stressed office workers and students seeking relief from South Korea’s demanding work and academic culture. Prison rules are strict. No talking with other inmates. No mobile phones or clocks. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Participants are seen through the windows of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 10, 2018.
Participants are seen through the windows of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 10, 2018. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Participants bow before being locked up at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 10, 2018.
Participants bow before being locked up at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 10, 2018. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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A participant eats a meal inside a cell of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility.
A participant eats a meal inside a cell of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Prison Inside Me is shrouded by fog at dawn in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 11, 2018. South Koreans worked 2,024 hours on average in 2017, the third longest after Mexico and Costa Rica
Prison Inside Me is shrouded by fog at dawn in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 11, 2018. South Koreans worked 2,024 hours on average in 2017, the third longest after Mexico and Costa Rica Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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A participant meditates before being locked up in a cell at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea.
A participant meditates before being locked up. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Participants take a walk before they're locked up at Prison Inside Me in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 10, 2018.
Participants take a walk before they’re locked up at Prison Inside Me in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 10, 2018. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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A participant takes a nap inside a cell of Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, November 10, 2018.
A participant takes a nap inside a cell in Hongcheon, South Korea. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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An administrator serves meals at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility.
An administrator serves meals at Prison Inside Me. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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An administrator distributes a meal to a participant at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea.
An administrator distributes a meal to a participant at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Participants prepare to be locked up at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility.
Participants prepare to be locked up at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Park Hye-ri, 28, a startup business program manager, stretches while being locked inside a cell of Prison Inside Me,
“This prison gives me a sense of freedom,” said Park Hye-ri, 28, a startup business program manager, “I shouldn’t be here right now, given the work I need to do. But I decided to pause and look back at myself for a better life.” Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Mobile phones of participants are seen at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility.
Mobile phones of participants are seen at Prison Inside Me. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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A window of a cell inside Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility.
Clients get a blue prison uniform, a yoga mat, tea set, a pen and notebook. They sleep on the floor. There is a small toilet inside the room, but no mirror. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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A participant looks through the window of a cell at Prison Inside Me in Hongcheon, South Korea.
A participant looks through the window of a cell at Prison Inside Me in Hongcheon, South Korea. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Park Hye-ri, 28, a startup business program manager, walks to a cell of Prison Inside Me in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 10, 2018.
Park Hye-ri, 28, a startup business program manager, walks to a cell of Prison Inside Me in Hongcheon, South Korea, Nov. 10, 2018. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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A participant receives a certificate of parole after spending time at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, November 11, 2018. Since 2013, the facility has hosted more than 2,000 inmates, many of them stressed office workers and students seeking relief from South Korea's demanding work and academic culture.
A participant receives a certificate of parole after spending time at Prison Inside Me, a mock prison facility, in Hongcheon, South Korea, November 11, 2018. Since 2013, the facility has hosted more than 2,000 inmates, many of them stressed office workers and students seeking relief from South Korea’s demanding work and academic culture. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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Park Hye-ri (L), 28, a startup business program manager, takes a selfie with her friends before she's locked up in Hongcheon, South Korea.
Park Hye-ri (L), 28, a startup business program manager, takes a selfie with her friends before she’s locked up in Hongcheon, South Korea. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

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