In prison Kim Dae-jung was only allowed one sheet of paper per month. The letters to his wife Lee Hee-ho had to be written with small characters.
Kim Dae-jung donated the facsimiles of the letters to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
The Bible was a key source of energy for Kim Dae-jung. His struggle for democracy in South Korea led to attempts on his life, imprisonment and forced exile. Thanks to support from the South Korean people and democratic efforts around the world, he could keep on fighting. But his deep personal faith also gave him strength. In his Nobel Prize Lecture he said: “I have lived, and continue to live, in the belief that God is always with me.”
Kim Dae-jung donated the bible to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
These clothes were worn by Kim Dae-jung during his time in prison. After being sentenced to death in 1981, Kim Dae-jung was sent to the Chungju prison. Visits from his family were restricted. Kim’s wife Lee Hee-ho knitted clothes and blankets to give more warmth than the prison uniform. The death sentence was later commuted, and he was allowed in 1982 to go into exile in the United States.
Kim Dae-jung donated the prison clothes to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2001.
