On Wednesday March 19th two representatives of
the Los Angeles-based organization Liberty In North Korea visited UNCG’s campus
to raise awareness about the plight of North Korean refugees. Founded in 2010
by Hannah Song, LiNK has successfully aided 221 North Korean refugees in
fleeing what is widely considered the most oppressive totalitarian regime in
the world.
“The
People’s Crisis” is a documentary written and produced by members of LiNK. The
film follows members Hannah Song and Justin Wheeler as they undergo the mission
of retrieving North Korean refugees who have fled their homes in hopes of
attaining asylum in South East Asia. This process is neither safe nor
predictable and involves secret meetings and checkpoints like a modern day
underground railroad.
The
border between North and South Korea is the most heavily guarded border in the
world. For this reason, many refugees escape by way of China. This is
problematic though, because China does not recognize North Korean asylum
seekers as political refugees in spite of The Convention and Protocol Relating
to The Status of Refugees, outlined by the United Nations. This has important
implications for vulnerability of the refugees hiding in China. If intercepted
by Chinese police, the refugees are sent back to North Korea, where they face detainment
in labor camps, torture and often capital punishment.
David
Hawk, Author of The Hidden Gulag: Exposing North Korea’s Prison Camps, compares
North Korea’s political system to a three-legged stool. The first leg is the
complete control of information coming in the country or leaving the country.
The second leg is the surveillance of the citizenry by police forces and
government spies. The third leg is the swift and severe punishment of anyone
who is considered a threat to the regime. The comparison made by Hawk indicates
that the foundation of North Korea’s political system is precarious and will
perhaps eventually become its own undoing.
For
their own safety, the faces of the refugees interviewed in “The People’s
Crisis” are either blurred or left in shadow. Minsung, only 18 years old,
explained the emotional impact of achieving freedom, while his family remains under
the North Korean totalitarian regime. “The food has no taste to me.” He said,
“I am thinking of my family and the people back in North Korea”. Between 1994
and 1998 North Korea experienced the most detrimental famine of the 20th
century. While the worst of the famine has passed, thanks to $200 million in
food aid from the UN, many North Koreans are still suffering from starvation
and malnutrition today.
Stephen
Haggard, professor at The University of California’s Graduate School of
International Relationships, explained the important role groups like LiNK play
in changing North Korea’s current political landscape. “By encouraging the exit
of North Koreans, we are either contributing to opening the country or we are
providing new information back into North Korea. And obviously it becomes
harder for an authoritarian regime to maintain itself as the citizens are more
informed about opportunities abroad.” Haggard Said.
It
is the 21st century and the way we process and share information has
changed due to advances in technology. This provides a glimmer of hope for the
people of North Korea, an isolated country that is becoming more open to
international influence. As
information leaks into North Korea, the likelihood of mobilization, education,
and protest among its citizens increases.
LiNK’s
mission is to change the way the world thinks about the state of North Korea on
a grassroots level. So far, the narrative has remained a political discourse
rather than a humanitarian one. Before the screening of “The People’s Crisis”,
when asked what words come to mind when one hears “North Korea,” students
responded with terms such as “nuclear missiles” or “dictatorship” rather than,
“human rights” “famine” or “refugees”. To learn more about the real nature of
life in North Korea, or for more information on how to get involved with LiNK visit
www.libertyinnorthkorea.org.
