Hahm Suk Hun, 75, a venerable leader of South Korea's Quakers and an advocate of nonviolence, had been imprisoned by the Japanese, the Russians and then by the authoritarian Syngman Rhee regime. Now he knew he faced imprisonment again. And so, each day during his trial, he came to the Seoul courtroom dressed in beige funeral robes to symbolize the death of his freedom—and of Korean democracy. When the four-month trial finally ended, he and 17 distinguished co-defendants were sentenced to terms ranging from two to eight years each. Said Hahm: "These were the best of our people....
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