THE government of South Korea describes Cheonan prison, south of Seoul, as "the world's first specialised foreigner correctional facility". It must also be one of the most humane, with its gallery of softly lit art and its designated smile zones (for guards and inmates alike). There are sing-alongs to Korean pop music, language classes over hot tea and snacks, and a library stocked with over 5,000 foreign books/Foreign lawbreakers are usually sent to the prison, which opened in 2010 (and also houses 700 South Koreans, in a separate wing). Yet the inmates embarking on its "Good Morning Korea" programme of cultural education typically serve short sentences before being deported.
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