Escapee Tells of Horrors in North Korean Prison Camp
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121003855_3.html
Born and raised in a North Korean gulag
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/09/world/asia/09iht-korea.4.6569853.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
I was a Political Prison at Birth in North Korea
http://www.northkoreanrefugees.com/2007-09-atbirth.htm
Escapee of North Korea’s brutal prison camp tells his horrifying story
Part 1/2
Part 2/2
Posted in Concentration Camps, Refugees / Defectors | Leave a Comment »
Shin was born in Camp No. 14 to parents whose union was rewarded by prison guards for excellent work as laborers. Born and raised in the prison camp, Shin thought doign forced labors all day long, getting beatings from guards, and starving from lack of food were normal things that everybody was going through.
However, fourteen years after living in the prison camp his life started changing drastically. His mother and brother were caught trying to escape, and the then-fourteen year old boy was taken undergroudn cell by the guards. For seven months, he suffered from unbearable tortures from the prison guards that wanted him to confess about the family escape plan that he knew nothing about. On Nov. 29, 1996, he and his father were made to sit in the front row of a crowd assembled to watch executions. There, his mother was hung and his brother was shot right before his eyes.
"They built a charcoal fire. Shin was stripped of his clothes. Ropes were tied to his arms and legs and secured to the ceiling of the cell. He was dangled over the fire. When he writhed away from the flame, a guard pierced his gut with a steel hook to hold him in place."
Then, in 2004, his life was going to take another, rather positive, turn. An older cellmate who had worked with him in the garment factory and helped Shin recover from his torture wounds started telling him about life beyond the camp. The world where food was literally everywhere. Once his eyes opened to the world outside of the prison camp, he could no longer focus on the works that he had to do. He wanted to escape and “everyday became an agony”.
On Jan. 2, 2005, Shin and his cell-mate attempted to jump over the electric fence when no guards were in sight. The cell-mate tried to escape first but was electrocuted from the high voltage fence. Then, Shin stepped on his corpse and climb over the fence to the outer world.
Shin stepped over his dead friends body to escape to the outer world
In July 2005, Shin reached China, and in August 2006, he finally arrived in South Korea.
Shin testifies that he does not want vengeance, as he says, “Kim Jong Il is a gangster. If we kill him, we will be just like him.”
Instead, Shin wants to spread awareness about the sufferings in the Concentration Camps. His wish is that South Koreans and the rest of the world would pay more attention to the conditions that people in the prison camps are subjected to and how much pain they feel every single day of their lives.
Shin in South Korea
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China, a life-long communist ally of North Korea, protested at the killing of 3 Chinese smugglers by North Korean guards. They were said to be smuggling copper wire from North Korea. This event could not have come at a more inappropriate period, since it was not too long ago that North Korea attacked and sank a South Korean ship, killing 46 sailors. Could this foreshadow more friction to come between Chinese-North Korean relations?
From Los Angeles Times:
By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles TimesJune 9, 2010
China formally protested on Tuesday that three of its citizens were killed and a fourth wounded by North Korean border guards who opened fire last week in an apparent attempt to crack down on smuggling.The Chinese were from the border city of Dandong, site of the Friendship Bridge, across the Yalu River, commemorating China’s support for the North during the Korean War. According to reports in the South Korean media, the Chinese were suspected of smuggling copper wire out of the North Korean city of Sinuiju, which is on the other side of the bridge. The reports said they were on a boat on the river when they were shot Friday.
…
Tensions remain high in the region over the sinking of the South Korean ship. The Global Times, an English-language newspaper with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party, on Tuesday complained about joint U.S.-South Korean naval exercises planned for the Yellow Sea, where the Cheonan went down. Some reports said the George Washington, a U.S. aircraft carrier, would participate, although the Pentagon said a decision had not been made.
“Though intended to send a threatening message to North Korea, having a U.S. aircraft carrier participating in joint military drills off of China’s coast would certainly be a provocative action toward China,” the newspaper editorialized.
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The second week of May is always annually recognized around the world for Mother’s Day, just as it was in South Korea this weekend.
On May 6th, another meaningful event was held in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, where elderly North Korean refugees were served with North Korean food. The refugees relished
the food, some even saving it for later. At the same time, many shed tears as well, for they were reminded of their family still living, or already having deceased, in North Korea. When asked if Parent’s Day was celebrated in North Korea too, one elderly woman answered, “No, but they instead celebrate the birthdays of their fathers - Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jung-Il.”
Just as the world celebrates parents for their sacrifice, Nort Korea celebrates their Dear Leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jung-Il on April 15th and February 16th. A series of luxurious festivals, foods and entertainments make those two dates the greatest national holidays.
The two seemingly delightful holidays exist to keep the inner party members' mouths shut from the public
It was reported that on April 13th that several hundred imported automobiles were imported from China to North Korea. Afterwards, another two hundred cars were imported again, which were approximated to have cost 5 million dollars to buy all the cars. So one would question for what use those luxurious and expensive cars were imported. For industrial use? For the people’s welfare? No, but the answer is that it’s only likely that they were for the upperclassmen of the government officials, and that they were ordered by Kim Jung-Il as gifts for his aides. It only seems that gifts are expensive yet effective method of Kim Jung-Il to prevent his government officials from defecting or telling the world and the people about the reality of North Korea. Refugees who currently reside in South Korea also testify that Kim Jung-Il gave cars to the Party members as gifts. The two seemingly delightful holidays existed to bribe the inner party members to keep their mouth shut from the public, so that the “supreme leader” could keep his dictatorship.
Posted in Others, Politics, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Il, might visit China, due to his visit to the Pyongan province. Having “reportedly” being hesitant to fly, Kim Jong Il has prefered to tarvel in his personal train. The possible trip to China could be another step towards de-nuclearizing North Korea. If so, the world could breath better.
If North Korea were to de-nuclearize, then perhaps it would benefit everyone. Asian c
ountries no longer need to live in a nuclear war tension, while USA could spread its influence to Asia by helping North Korean infrastructure. Also, China could boast of its diplomatic success, and most importantly, North Korea is that much closer to rebuilding itself.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
“Whatever You Like” by an American rapper, T.I., was a massive hit in the summer of 2008, topping the charts for seven nonconsecutive weeks, and staying in the top 3 of the charts for over 3 months. In the song, an imaginary girl that goes out with T.I. is able to have whatever she likes, from champaign to clothes to just plain cash.
However, in our society, it seems to us that we can
never get what we like. When we take food, for example, in my high school cafeteria, when I ask my friends, “What’s for dinner?”, one out of three times, they say something like, ”OMG rubber steak!”, “It’s chicken and rice again”, or “It’s disgusting. I’m ordering sushi.” This is not only happening at my school cafeteria, but restaurants all over the world, resulting in the increasingly wonderous food wastes.
Once, one of my friend told me that her father scolded her and told her to think of the kids in North Korea everytime she had left-over food. Perhaps, it is the tragedy of having so many things that we do not realize how many things we have to be thankful for. We easily forget that when we are wishing to get “whatever [we] like,” people in North Korea do not even get the one of the most basic things that human beings deserve to have – food.
Just today, the Chosun Times reported that this year, North Korea will be short on food by 1.0 to 1.2 million tons without support from outter countries. It has been estimated that, from last fall till upcoming summer, approximately 3.0 to 4.0 million tons of crops will be produced. Whereas, the amount of supply needed is nearly 5.23 million tons, which includes 4.058 million tons needed for the people. The Korea Herald reported that nearly 1 third of the North Korean population needs food support from the United Nations.
More than a third of North Koreans are in need of food aid from the international community, said Lynn Pascoe, U.N. under-secretary-general for political affairs, who visited the impoverished state earlier this month.
“These are human beings that need the food. It’s not the political system. This shouldn’t be argued in a political way,” Pascoe said in an interview with CNN.
He said the United Nations is giving nutritional supplements to as many as 1.3 million of North Korea’s 24 million people, but the U.N. World Food Program has estimated that more than a third of the population needs food aid.
Pascoe claimed the United Nations can be relied on for transparency of distribution.
“Our people believe they have a very clear idea of who’s using the food, where it’s going, and it’s really for the good of the people who need it most,” he said.
Pascoe was the first top-level U.N. official to visit North Korea in six years.
“There clearly is malnutrition at younger ages, so we’re trying to help them with fortified food and up through the schools so that they can eat. There also was a very large program on immunizations for the children,” he said.
“Our problem is we don’t have enough money coming in now to sustain some of those programs. … But the truth of the matter is we need to do more because these are people.”
The South Korean government estimates that the North will be short of up to 1.1 million tons of grain this year due to poor harvests last year.
It is perfectly fine not to like all the food that we get on our plate, and we might, again, be prone to throwing them away. However, next time we are in front of the trash can, thinking of dumping the left over rubber steak in, we should remind ourselves what that steak means to the children in North Korea. It is something that they can only dream of seeing. It is something that can keep them more healthy. It is something that would have helped some of them live for at least one more day.
Posted in Health Issues, Others | 1 Comment »
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