What’s the buzz about?
In recent years, international disputes over North Korea have been largely centered around nuclear threats and political conflict. However, what many have been failing to realize is the more eminent threat of mass starvation, poverty, and abuse of human rights within the country. Since Kim Jong-Un’s rise to dictatorship, ethics violations have been soaring to the national level–from public executions designed to shock the public to the notorious prison camps known for their mistreatment of residents, North Korea’s humanitarian crisis is one that has been largely pushed to the sidelines, especially with widespread fear of the country’s political regime.
What started it?
Korea was a united country until 1945, the end of World War II, when the Soviet Union and the United States made the decision to split the country among themselves with a boundary along the 38th parallel. South Korea formed the Republic of Korea in Seoul, while North Korea formed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Pyongyang. Syngman Rhee was appointed as leader in the North; Kim Il-Sung was dictator in the South. The Korean War began in 1950 as an attempt by both sides to establish control of the entire country, although neither side won. The legacy of the war still remains. Today, North Korea and South Korea are two distinct countries, with one side under Communist rule and the other a Democratic republic. North Korea’s economic collapse, a direct result of its system of government, has caused many social problems for its citizens, including the repression of freedom, a significant increase in crime, as well as prominence in diseases and a lack of means to combat it.
How does North Korea’s culture play a role in this?
North Korea is a country isolated from outside influence. Propaganda is widely used for the purpose of inspiring both submission to the leader as well as providing a positive facade for the few visitors that come. The seclusion causes a repression of the truth that ultimately results in negative depictions of the outside world. Residents are coerced into believing that their country is the only country “free from American imperialist influence.” Not only does this prevent seditious speech, it also perpetuates the human rights crisis.
Tell me more about the prison camps.
The first prison camps in North Korea were established in order to house those who were resisting the regime. Since then, their purpose has remained fairly the same. There are currently six in North Korea for political prisoners. According to Ahn Myong-Choi, a former prison guard of Camp 22 in Hoeyrong, those who inhabit the camps resemble “walking skeletons, dwarfs, and cripples in rags.” Brutal abuses are committed within the camps, and an estimation of between 1,500 and 2000 prisoners perish from malnutrition each year. Today, they are a reminder of the lack of natural rights for North Korea’s people.
What’s it like to live in North Korea? What about escaping from it?
Many refugees who have escaped from North Korea have begun to voice their stories on what it’s like to live in the authoritarian state. In February of 2013, the escapee Hyeonseo Lee, now a prominent activist for North Korean refugee rights, gave a TEDx talk on the plight of North Koreans trying to flee the country. Of her own attempt she stated, “Even though I was fortunate enough to get out, many other North Koreans have not been so lucky. It’s tragic that North Koreans have to hide their identities and struggle so hard just to survive.” On her journey to South Korea, Lee had faced many trials: her family had been detained many times for illegal immigration, she was questioned brutally by the Chinese police, and there was a constant internal question of whether she was North Korean or South Korean, a conflict of national allegiance.
Growing up in North Korea, Lee had always perceived her country to be “the best on the planet.” She sang the national anthem proudly. She’d never believed she could live anywhere else – until the famine hit.
It was then that Lee started witnessing the darker parts of her country: the emaciated children, the dead bodies floating down the river, and the lack of government assistance for the general population. After becoming aware of what was truly going on in North Korea, she made the decision to one day escape and bring her family with her. She was first sent to China to live with relatives in the hardest stages of the famine. Ten years later, Lee decided to take the risk and flee to South Korea, where she knew she would be safer. When the money she had been sending to her family in North Korea was intercepted by authorities, she knew that she had to help them escape. She traveled back to China and made it to the border of Laos, but her family was jailed. It took Lee’s sheer bravery, perseverance, and the assistance of a kind stranger for her family to be reunited in South Korea.
Such trials are only a minimal amount of those faced by North Koreans attempting to escape their country. One refugee, Charles, was sent back to North Korea after living in China. He was forced to work in the coal mines as punishment, but only after being questioned and severely abused by government authorities. There, he was horrified by workers losing arms and legs while the government did nothing to prevent it. He fled by train across the border to China and stayed in an international refugee camp. From there, he was then transported to the United States.
In the harsh regime of the country, a means of resistance is difficult to achieve. However, there are those who dedicate their lives to effect change and to provide freedom from oppression. While success is limited, some do succeed.
What’s being done about the situation?
On March 27, 2015, the Human Rights Campaign condemned the government’s actions through a resolution calling to awareness the abuse of power. Later that year, the United Nations Security Council added North Korea’s humanitarian crisis to its agenda in December 2015. A United Nations office was opened in Seoul to closely monitor human rights abuses in North Korea. Since then, the North Korean government has ratified four international human rights treaties; however, no changes have been seen. Oppression continues to be evident within the society in the limitation of basic rights and freedoms for its people.
What can I do to help?
Organizations like Liberty in North Korea and Helping Hands Korea have been contributing actively to the effort to both raise awareness and support refugees of the crisis. Many of these volunteer-based organizations are available for internship opportunities. Many of the ways you can help include joining or starting a rescue team in your area, fundraising for refugee migration, or hosting a speaker event that encourages reflection. By donating a little bit of your time or money, you too can promote dialogue of this important issue, you too can inform the world to start acknowledging what’s going on in North Korea, as well as what we as individuals can contribute to the cause.
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