00:07The search for this unusual prison in Korea leads us inland to Hongchong, 100 kilometers east of Seoul.
00:17Here in this modern prison, Koreans voluntarily check themselves in.
00:25In tiny cells without any contact with the outside world.
00:29Are they punishing themselves?
00:31What's the secret of this prison?
00:34A prison employee drives the new inmates in a luxury van.
00:39Our reporter Miriam Thomas meets Na Man, a 51-year-old Korean from Seoul.
00:44Three days in a prison cell are ahead of him. He's going voluntarily.
01:03Inmates receive uniforms as they would in jail. They have to register and change clothes.
01:09It's not a game. There are cameras everywhere.
01:11What is Na Man doing here?
01:14Why am I here? To put myself, actually my body, into the prison.
01:21Uh-huh. Not a real explanation, but all this does seem to be truly voluntary.
01:27In special jute bags, the inmates pack up for their time in the cell.
01:33Toothpaste and skin cream. And, you know, shirts. Something like that. And a minimum.
01:43And laptop? No laptop.
01:48And also, no mobile phone. Na Man and the others have to hand over their phones. An employee locks them
01:55away.
01:57For three days, I'm not allowed to use my phone. So, anything might happen, but I have to accept it.
02:12It's Friday, 4pm. Na Man sees his room for the first time. Or should we say, his cell.
02:19There are 28 of the same sort side by side here. All are furnished in a rather spartan fashion.
02:30So, this is going to be your new home? Yeah. My prison.
02:35What do you think about it? A little narrow, though. It's good to me.
02:40And where's the bed? Na Man finds a thin mattress in the closet.
02:45How would you do it? I can put this here. This is my bed.
02:56Other inmates also move into their cells. All rooms are only 5 square meters and have a toilet.
03:03But why are the rooms so small? Enough space wouldn't hurt.
03:07The creator of this voluntary prison explains to us why.
03:12The rooms are that small because it makes it easier to concentrate on yourself.
03:16That's very important for the people here. The peace and seclusion.
03:21Sounds almost like a rehabilitation center, but it's not. Prison director Quan shows us the garden.
03:27The 51-year-old has fulfilled a dream with this prison. He's a lawyer.
03:31Why would anyone who's been putting people behind bars all his life have the desire to build a jail?
03:41I was a prosecutor. I worked more than 100 hours a week and was completely exhausted.
03:46I wanted to get out of the rut myself and always had the idea of a small closed room.
03:54I couldn't think of anything else. I just felt that there I would be free and able to reflect.
04:01That's how I came up with the idea for a small prison cell.
04:04And I thought that there might be more people in South Korea who are like me.
04:07Stress is a big problem here.
04:12The capital Seoul is a bustling metropolis of 10 million inhabitants.
04:16The working culture is strictly hierarchical.
04:1915-hour days are normal, so due to the stress, the inmates flee here.
04:24I have nothing to hear. Nothing to think about my life, my wife, my family, anything.
04:30Just to think about pure ingredients of my mind, myself.
04:39And for that to work, the hotel manager and wife of the boss locks Naman and the other inmates in.
04:44At 5pm, the doors are closed.
04:50Even boss Kwon can be locked up by his own wife.
04:54Isn't that strange to send your own husband to prison?
05:03He still has a hard life as a lawyer and head of this institution.
05:11Therefore, I just hope he has a good time in the cell
05:14and that he can basically isolate himself of it all.
05:23For the next 21 hours, Naman will stay in his five square meter room
05:28with no connection to the outside world, no distractions, in complete silence.
05:35Does he really feel better the next day?
05:42He wants to make himself finally let go of the hectic city life and have some peace.
05:53Shortly before 6 in the morning, reporter Miriam has an appointment, but everything seems to be locked.
06:00Manager Min Ho is already awake to waken the inmates.
06:04There's no such thing as sleeping late in a prison for stress.
06:07But at least, Min Ho wakes up the inmates in a gentle way and quite deliberately.
06:16We wake the inmates up with music, so they enjoy waking up.
06:22In real life, we all wake up with alarm clocks, and that's always a shock for the body.
06:29Here we play soft music for 15 minutes, so you can enjoy waking up.
06:37For Naman, the morning begins by making tea and doing meditation exercises.
06:42We don't know how he's doing.
06:45He remains without any contact to the outside world.
06:50We keep looking around.
06:52The boss, Quan, has created a real paradise of peace for 2 million euros.
06:57Only in the kitchen is there something exciting going on.
07:01Finally, it seems like there's breakfast.
07:03But the menu looks extremely healthy.
07:06Rice, porridge with spicy cucumbers and sour vegetables.
07:09And the portions are quite small, on purpose.
07:15We don't serve big portions.
07:19The porridge comes in these bowls.
07:22It's just better if the stomach isn't too full.
07:26This way it's much healthier.
07:32The director's wife gives him his meal through a small panel in the door.
07:43It's important for our guests to focus on themselves.
07:47Her concentration would be lost if we let her out.
07:50That's why they have to eat in the cell.
07:55Another 4 hours to go for the inmates, of doing nothing.
07:59Could that really lift their mood, being locked up for 17 hours?
08:08At 2 p.m. the doors are finally opened.
08:11The inmates go outside immediately.
08:17Boring or what did you do?
08:19Nearly boring.
08:21For the past hours.
08:23Really boring.
08:26The first breath of fresh air after 17 hours in a tiny room.
08:35This is a really uncomfortable place.
08:38I have no freedom inside that room.
08:41Actually, I don't like it.
08:43If any one of us say,
08:45I'm happy inside this prison.
08:49Many people will not agree.
08:51I will not agree with that too.
08:54But this experience precisely made me happier outside.
09:01I'm happy just by standing here and looking at that.
09:08And that's precisely the concept behind this prison.
09:11If you force overworked people to rest, cut them off from the outside world,
09:15they will inevitably focus on the essentials.
09:21I always had the urge to move while I was inside there.
09:24So I'm so happy to run now.
09:30They have three hours before they head back into the cells.
09:33And they spend this time gardening.
09:36Voluntarily.
09:37Even weeding in the potato field seems to make them happy.
09:42In the past, as a prosecutor,
09:44I used to put people behind bars because they did bad things and had to pay for them.
09:52Today, I lock people up to make them better and make them happy.
10:00Happy or not, at 5pm they go back to their cells.
10:04The inmates pay 130 euros for two nights and three days.
10:09A prison to reduce stress and increase happiness.
10:12For overworked Koreans at least, this seems to do the trick.
10:32But they do the trick.
10:32For overworked Koreans at least, this is something good.
10:32To be as a client or a doctor's doctor,
10:32There's a place to use.
