Cleaning House

In the dark chambers of South Korea's notorious spy agency, Kim Nak Joong paid the price for consorting with the enemy. As a young scholar with an idealistic desire to see the Korean peninsula united, Kim traveled to the communist North as a self-styled peace broker. In South Korea 40 years ago, that made him a North Korean spy. The agency's interrogators beat him with a metal pipe, screaming at him to confess that he'd been sent by Pyongyang to foment revolution. "When I passed out, they'd throw ice water on me," recalls Kim,...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!