SOUTH KOREANS' SPECIAL

SOUTH KOREANS lock themselves up to escape prison of daily life.

FOR most people, prison is a place to escape from. For South Koreans in need of a break from the demands of a daily life, a day in a faux jail is the escape.

''This prison gives me a sense of freedom,'' said Park Hye-ri, a 28-year old office worker who paid $90 to spend 24 hours locked up in a mock prison.

SINCE 2013, the  'Prison Inside Me'  facility in northeast Hongcheon has hosted more than  2,000 inmates, many of them stressed office workers and students seeking relief from South Korea's demanding work and academic culture.

''I was too busy,'' said Park as she sat in a 5-sq-m [ 54-sq-foot] cell. ''I shouldn't be here right now, given the work I need to do. But I decided to pause and look back at myself for a better life.''

Prison rules are strict. No talking with other inmates. No mobile phones or clocks.

Clients get a blue prison uniform, a  yoga mat, tea set, a pen and a notebook. They sleep on the floor.

There is a small toilet inside the room, but no mirror. The menu includes steamed sweet potato and a banana shake for dinner, and rice porridge for breakfast.

Co-founder  Noh Ji-Hyang said the mock prison  was inspired by her husband, a prosecutor who often put in 100-hour work weeks.

''He said he would rather go into solitary confinement for a week to take a rest and feel better,'' she said. [Agencies].