Suh Sung (born 3 April 1945) is a Korean professor, writer, and former

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...

Early life and arrest

Suh was born on 3 April 1945 in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, Japan, to

Zainichi Korean comprise ethnic Koreans who have permanent residency status in Japan or who have become Japanese citizens, and whose immigration to Japan originated before 1945, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South ...

parents. He received his elementary and secondary school education in Japan, and graduated from

Tokyo University of Education is a public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Project. The university has 28 college cl ...

in March 1968. Suh then travelled to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

to continue his studies at the Graduate School of Sociology at

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a national public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Founded in 1946, Seoul National University is largely considered the most prestigious university in South Korea; it is one of the three "S ...

, during the

regime In politics, a regime (also "régime") is the form of government or the set of rules, cultural or social norms, etc. that regulate the operation of a government or institution and its interactions with society. According to Yale professor Juan Jo ...

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

. On 18 April 1971, shortly after returning to South Korea from a trip to Japan to see his family, Suh was arrested under false pretenses of being a North Korean spy and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. While in custody and under heavy interrogation and torture, Suh lit himself on fire, but survived with severe burns to his face. Suh's sentenced was reduced to 20 years on 21 December 1988, and he was released on 28 February 1990, after being imprisoned for nearly 19 years.

Later career

Suh is currently Professor of International Studies at

Ritsumeikan University is a private university in Kyoto, Japan, that traces its origin to 1869. With the Kinugasa Campus (KIC) in Kyoto, and Kyoto Prefecture, the university also has a satellite called Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC). Tod ...

in Japan. His autobiography ''Unbroken Spirits: Nineteen Years in South Korea's Gulag'' details his experience as a political prisoner.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suh, Sung 1945 births People from Kyoto Ritsumeikan University faculty Living people Prisoners and detainees of South Korea