One of the most famous and acclaimed screenwriters in North Korea, he was awarded the Order of Kim Il Sung, Kim Il Sung Prize, and earned the title of a "Double Labor Hero".

[1][2] Ri was born on April 12, 1942, in Pyongyang, at the time occupied by Japan and currently a part of North Korea.

[1][2] After leaving Pyongchon High School,[2] he enrolled at Kim Il Sung University in 1963 and remained there for several years.

[3][4] He later became one of the most influential writers in North Korean cinema,[4] scripting films such as The Fourteenth Winter (1980),[2] Youthful Heart (1981),[2] Secretary in Charge of the County Party (1982),[5] Pulgasari (1985; albeit uncredited),[6] A Broad Bellflower (1987),[2] Man Remaining in Our Heart (1989),[7] and Traces of Life (1989).

[1][9][10] A 2012 report from Radio Free Asia said that Ri had been "stripped of all his honorary positions and dismissed as a farm worker in [R]yanggang Province.