Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Yong-mee Lee story..

I discovered this site the other day and was browsing and found this presentation by a North Korean defector.
I thought it was a good summary of how things are in North Korea and a bit of background on Japanese immigrants of the 60's and 70's

You can read the presentation by going to the url or you can read below where i have copied the entire text.


http://www.northkoreanrefugees.com/why-one-young-lady-escaped-from-north-korea/#more-1811

Why one young lady escaped from North Korea

On May 12, 2017, Yong-mee Lee was invited to Tokyo University to present a speech to the students.
Yong-mee Lee is one of the North Korean refugees whom LFNKR (Life Funds for North Korean Refugees) has helped to safely reach Japan and resettle here.  We are very happy to see the growing number of resettled North Korean refugees now helping LFNKR. They are actively participating in our activities to raise awareness of the difficulties still faced by the North Korean people.  The following speech was presented by Yong-mee Lee.
I am Yong-mee Lee, and I am in my thirties.  About five years ago, in 2012, I escaped from North Korea and made it to Japan.
First, I would like to briefly introduce myself.
I was born in Hyesan, Ryanggang-do, a border city in North Korea.  My parents are ethnic Koreans, that is, Koreans who were born in Japan.  They moved to North Korea in the 1960’s, believing in the “Paradise on Earth” propaganda launched by Chongryon.  They married in North Korea.
I graduated from an academic college and became a teacher.  After working at an elementary school for six years. Then, about three years before I escaped from North Korea, I quit my teaching job and started a business in the black market.
I left my country in March 2012, and after five months of difficulties, finally reached Japan in August 2012 with the help of LFNKR.
I studied hard to learn the Japanese language by attending night classes at junior high schools and taking a high school correspondence course, which earned me a high school equivalency diploma.  And now, I am studying at a medical vocational college.
Here is why I had to decide to escape my country and undertake the hazardous journey to Japan.
It was in about 2000 when I decided to escape from North Korea.  I was often the target of discrimination, even from my early childhood, because my parents were returnees from Japan.  People from Japan and their family members are considered untrustworthy, and it is extremely difficult to acquire any high positions in the Labor Party, the Police department or the military.
There were about 90,000 ethnic Koreans who had moved from Japan during the 1960’s and 1970’s. About 1,800 of these were Japanese wives who had accompanied their ethnic Korean husbands.
Back then, in North Korea, a new State Security Department, which is equivalent to Secret Police, was established to safeguard the honor and safety of Kim il-Sung.  The government ordered every local State Security Department to closely monitor the returnees from Japan, saying that one out of every 100 returnees was a spy.
There was a quota. The person in charge of every State Security Department was expected to catch, for example, 30 returnee spies each month, and if they should fail to arrest 30, they were punished.  You can easily imagine how desperate they were to fulfill their assigned quota.
I was once told by an acquaintance that one returnee while out drinking with his friends commented, “I am having a hard time adapting myself to the life here.  I wish I could go back to Japan.” He was arrested soon after that.
In another case, a returnee was at a soccer game and it started to rain.  He was holding a North Korea national flag in his hand and he sat on it.  He was arrested for this act because it was considered behavior insulting to North Korea.
There were a lot of young people in their 20’s just like you, and many of them had been students at high schools and universities in Japan, where they were born.  They left Japan with the simple desire to restart their lives in “the paradise on earth” where they would not be discriminated against as Koreans.  What they discovered in North Korea, however, was a life of poverty and repressive monitoring.
The returnees from Japan were experiencing painful lives, and so they often got together to drink and sing the popular Japanese songs they used to hear in Japan.  Quite a few of them were arrested for singing those songs.
If returnees were arrested as economic criminals, they are treated as spies or traitors.  Most arrestees are tortured severely by the authorities until they finally give up and “confess.” Then they are sent to political prison camps, even though they are innocent.  I have known of only one person who was able to withstand the interrogation. He never yielded, never confessed, throughout three entire months of intense questioning.  That person was finally released, but then, after all that, committed suicide, jumping from the rooftop of a tall building.
The prisoners at the labor camps are treated so badly that many of them die from disease within a year of their incarceration.  I have witnessed many Japanese wives and their children who lived terrible lives after their husbands, their fathers, were imprisoned.  Every returnee from Japan has regretted moving to North Korea.
After Kim il-Sung died in 1994 and the so-called “Arduous March” began, our lives became even more difficult.
I have experienced all three of the North Korean leaders, Kim il-Sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un.  Until about 1990, the government paid salaries and supplied food and other goods, including rice.  Back then, I was a young teenager and I remember that the government supplied my school uniforms and school bags.  North Korea is a country of socialism with policies of free education and free medical treatment.
However, when the Soviet Union collapsed, North Korea lost economic aid from the USSR.  This was a catastrophic blow to the economy of North Korea, and that is when “the Arduous March” began.  At this time, Kim Jong-il was the leader of the country, but he failed to take any measures to improve conditions.  We received neither rice nor salaries, even when we worked, so many people starved to death.  Back then, I was a college student and we were lucky to receive financial support from our relatives in Japan.  So, our family members did not starve, but I saw many of my neighbors die from malnutrition.  Some of my classmates at our dormitory suffered from malnutrition and had to drop out of college.
Only one thing occupied our minds, “how can we survive this crisis?” More and more people quit going to work and started doing business in the black market.  When I graduated from college, we received a small salary, although I got no rice.   The amount of my salary was enough to buy food for only a few days.  To survive, I had no choice but start doing business on the black market.  However, about 80% of the population were doing the same thing, doing business in black markets, so the competition was severe with very low profits.  But still, people had to do that as they desperately scrambled to survive.  I used to go to the black market to earn whatever I could after working at the school, because I would be arrested if I skipped my school job.  Actually, quite a few people were arrested because they stopped reporting to their work places.
North Korea is a country where common sense has no meaning.
There is no freedom of speech.  One word criticizing the government could be enough reason to land you in jail.  And there is no freedom of movement.  If you wish to leave your home for a few days to go somewhere, you have to apply for permission not only from your workplace but also from the local mayor and police before you can get a pass permit.  And of course, when traveling you have to go through many checkpoints.
There are no human rights.  In North Korea, there are elections, but we are all required to go and vote – to always cast approving votes.  Every voter is under strict surveillance at every voting place, and if you should fail to cast an approving vote, then you will be arrested and sent to a political prison camp.
In 2002, Prime Minister Koizumi visited North Korea to bring several Japanese abductees to Japan.  At this time, there was strong disagreement between Kim Jong-il and the Japanese government.  This seriously angered Kim Jong-il, and he ordered the confiscation and destruction of every Japanese car in Pyongyang.  The North Korean government paid no compensation for those personally owned cars.
In 2010, Kim Jong-il paid inspection visits to Hamhung and Chongjin.  At that time, he commented that the towns are too dark at night and ordered installation of street lamps.  The mayors in those towns forcibly collected money to install the illumination.  In North Korea, general households were allowed to use electricity for only about five hours a day because of the shortage.  So, while the lights were are on in the towns, the people living in those towns were eating dinner by candlelight.
You can see the North Korean government’s indifference to people’s lives.
In 2008, the North Korean government enacted a monetary reform.  The purpose of the reform was to confiscate money from individuals.  There were many people successfully earning good money in the black markets.  Those people who worked hard in the black markets, earning money and saving it over a period of years, were thrown into deep despair when their savings were seized, and quite a few killed themselves.
The monetary reform caused a shutdown of the black markets for three months, and many people who had depended on black market income starved to death.  That reform intensified the frustration and distrust they felt toward the government.  The social turmoil was so severe that Kim Jong-un decided to blame and execute one of the top members of the Labor Party, even though the reform was enforced by Kim Jong-un himself.
North Korea is a country where you just cannot hope for anything in the future however hard you try.  At last, I came to realize that the country is hopeless, and that is why I decided to risk my life to escape and come to Japan.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

The Homeless of North Korea

  There are some pictures and sceneries which tourists can never be see when visiting North Korea.
Tourists are often guided by government officials, to be shown what the government want them to see.
 
  In reality, there are many disturbing "truths" in the countries such as starving orphans, disabled street children and homeless elderlies. Usually their existences are not allowed to "appear" in the city, especially in front of tourists.

  Normally, orphans, disabled people and poor elderlies are supposed to be prioritized in a country's welfare system, for them to lead a meaning life, but those in North Korea not only have low quality of life but survival itself is a big challenge.

  Here is a video from YouTube that describes the situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLlrKBhkbLg  (I think someone secretly filmed since usually tourist cannot access or film them)

Saturday, October 28, 2017

North Korea Freedom Coalition, a non-profit organization for human rights of North Koreans

Who is the North Korea Freedom Coalition?

The North Korea Freedom Coalition was founded in June 2003 to work for the freedom, human rights, and dignity of the North Korea people.

The North Korea Freedom Coalition currently has over 70 public member organizations representing millions of American, South and North Korean, and Japanese citizens as well as other nations, along with many individual members.

The North Korea Freedom Coalition also has private members that provide humanitarian relief inside North Korea and members in China and other nations that feed, shelter, and rescue North Korean refugees.

The North Korea Freedom Coalition works closely with elected officials, other non-governmental organizations, and governments to achieve its goals.

The North Korea Freedom Coalition is most proud of the fact that all the major NGOs in the USA, Japan, and South Korea, and especially the North Korean defectors' organizations, are either members of the Coalition or work as partners with the Coalition on its many activities.

What are the Goals of the North Korea Freedom Coalition?
  • Make Human Rights the key policy of all governments in dealing with North Korea
  • Save Lives by helping rescue refugees and pressuring China to end its brutal repatriation policy
  • Close down political prison camps in North Korea
  • Pressure the DPRK to Release all abductees including Korean War POWs
  • Promote information into North Korea through all means
  • Get food aid directly to the North Korean people and end all food aid distribution controlled by the regime
  • Bring freedom, human rights, and dignity to the North Korean people

http://www.nkfreedom.org/

Friday, October 27, 2017

International Film Festival about Human Rights Violation in North Korea will be held in Seoul, Korea.

International Film Festival about Human Rights Violation in North Korea will be held in Seoul, Korea.

15 films from 7 countries including South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Austria, and Spain.

I hope more people know about the human rights crisis in North Korea through this film festival.

http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?ncd=3563687
http://www.rfa.org/korean/in_focus/human_rights_defector/nkhrmoviefest-11032017094634.html




Working Group on North Korean Women, a non-profit organization to raise awareness of human rights violations of North Korean women.

Who is Working Group on North Korean Women?

The Working Group on North Korean Women a non-profit organization and it is comprised of organizations, human rights activists, and experts dedicated to engaging and educating the international community on the grave human rights abuses suffered by North Korean Women.



The main goal of the Working Group on North Korean Women is to make North Korean Women’s Rights a mainstream issue at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.


  • A statement prepared by the Working Group on North Korean Women was submitted by Jubilee Campaign to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and made part of the Commission’s official record. This furthers the Working Group’s objective of bringing the plight of North Korean women to the attention of the CSW.



  • On March 17, 2017, the Working Group on North Korean Women held an event at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York City. The event was titled North Korean Women: Destitution and Human Trafficking in China. 



  • As part of our efforts to raise awareness about the situation faced by North Korean Women in North Korea and China, our working group will be submitting communications to the UN Commission on the Status of Women.


http://www.nkwomen.com/


As of May, 2017 about 30,490 North Koreans successfully arrived at South Korean.  Among them 71 percentage is women. Some North Korean refugees are still suffering from human trafficking and slavery at suburban areas in China where have difficulty in finding brides or labors. 



Working Group on North Korean Women is especially working to raise awareness of human rights violations of North Korean women.



Source: https://www.voakorea.com/a/3835827.html

The media preparing the public for a strike on North Korea

I discounted all the war hype media coverage about North Korea but now I'm starting to think a strike on North Korea might just happen.
The sign I always look for in the leadup is when the corporate media brings up the human rights PR Campain. 
They do this because it triggers a strong emotional response desired to get the public behind such a strike.
Iraq and Afghanistan being classic examples and there are many more. it's an old formula used by countries for centuries.

Anyway, I came across this article today.
Ron Paul, former presidential candidate and libertarian, suspects a possible false flag to kick things off



But the one that got me thinking is this article out of the Yahoo website today.



Anyone who reads this blog knows about the gulags but the fact that the corporate media is putting it front and center is a signal to me that something is about to happen.

Well, we'll see.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Take a tour of North Korea

😜

This is some of the best footage I've seen outside the usual Pyongyang footage.

A group of western tourists travel around in a minibus to Hamhung, Wonsan, etc
It's good because you get to see the countryside, towns and the larger cities.
The quality of the footage is not too bad either.
Hamhung is much bigger than I imagined it to be.

Dated 2012. not that long ago.

This is part 1


This is part 2


And this one from the same channel. a train ride from Pyongyang to Hamhung on the east coast. dated 2015. pretty recent.


Rocket Man adapting to hacking?

 The threat that's usually seen from North Korea is their Nuclear Weapons, but as posted yesterday from thegaurdian, they seem to be advancing more and more in their hacking.

It surprises me to know that when their bomb threats have been going more unnoticed, in my opinion, as time goes on Kim Jung-un, 'Rocket Man,' as called by President Trump, is posing other threats that can tear at the U.S.

An example of their advancements can be found in the article. It states, 'They were within a keystroke of nicking a billion dollars from the New York Federal Reserve and were stopped only by a spelling mistake: a bogus withdrawal request misspelled “foundation” as “fandation”. Even so, they got away with $81m.'

Is this an accurate representation of their advancements in the cyber field over their nuclear weapons or is it a ruse to seem more powerful then they are? From their heists they have almost pulled off, it seems more of a threat everyday. What is your opinion? Let me know in the comments.

A more accurate representation of this can be found on thegaurdian website:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/22/north-korea-deadliest-weapon-cyber-operations-sony-pictures

Saturday, October 21, 2017

10 ways to escape North Korea

This is an interesting presentation with examples of North Koreans who have managed to escape to South Korea in various ways.
Grace Jo of NKinUSA is featured briefly at the 5 minute and 5 second mark.

The part at the end where North Koreans volunteer to work in Russian Siberian Labor Camps gives you an idea of some level of desperation.


Here is the presentation. it runs for 11 minutes


Friday, October 20, 2017

In North Korea, Smile only appears on Drawings and in front of Government

  To feel happy and smile is a common human feature. But in North Korea, a smile is a luxury and very precious.

  In almost every drawing of North Korea, you can see big smiles on people's faces. North Korean drawings love to portrait people living peacefully and happily, which is very ironic. In reality, their lives are very insecure and sad. Living in poverty without any freedom or rights, and possible to face persecution anytime, how can they be happy?

  Not only in paintings, but when they are interviewed by foreign journalists, you can also see them cheerfully bragging about their lives and even how great their leader is. They have no alternatives because if foreigners visit North Korea, they are always followed by local guards who are from government. They show tourists only the things they can show.

  Sometimes our facial expressions cannot tell everything, and only those who can read one's heart can understand the whole picture.

North Korean regime will come to an end when North Korean people realize their human rights are violated and their freedom is persecuted.

North Korean people should know South Korean feed domestic animals with rice, South Korean send used outfits to the third world, and some North Koreans living near the Demilitarized Zone decide when they wash clothes after they listen to the forecast from South Korea,

Every person has their own genes for freedom. North Korean regime will come to an end when North Korean people realize their human rights are violated and their freedom is persecuted.

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/02/12/2017021201755.html



The people are starting to fight back

Some good news that a sadistic law enforcer was taken out by someone.
This could be a sign that the people are starting to stand up against their oppression.
I hope so.


http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=14770

And some more good news from the same site

These days, the family harmony scrolls are prized above Kim family portraits as family heirlooms.


http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=14762

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Yay! Two North Korean refugees rescued with the help of NKinUSA

Two North Korean refugees rescued with the help of NKinUSA (North Korean Refugees in the United States)


So thanks to the NKinUSA organization and congratulations to Ms. Park and Ms. Kim


You can read the whole article here

https://www.nkinusa.org/updates/2017/10/rescue-update/

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

A former ambassador, Byung Hwa Lee, is teaching English students from North Korea.

A former ambassador, Byung Hwa Lee, is teaching English students from North Korea.

Mr. Byung Hwa Lee was a Korean ambassador to Norway. When he worked in Russia, he met North Korean refugees. At that time he realized North Korean refugees are the early arrivals of the unification of Korea.

North Korean refugees are not used to English. He wanted to make good use of his English ability and he decided to participate in the volunteer service for North Korean refugees.

https://www.voakorea.com/a/3598194.html


An overview of North Korea

For anyone new to the North Korean situation, here is a good overview by Michael Malice.
He calls it 70 years of sorrow.
Another good presentation by Michael in the Voice and Exit festival.



Here is the link to Voice and Exit page.

http://www.voiceandexit.com/talks/

Korean war was decided 15 months before it happened

I was reading this article from global research when I came across this paragraph which if true, shows that the Korean war was planned.



https://www.globalresearch.ca/who-really-controls-the-world/5445239

 "The Elite members operate in absolute unison against public benefit, against a better life for mankind in which the individual is free to develop his or her innate creativity, a life free of war and bloodshed. James Forrestal, the first Secretary of Defence of the US, became aware of Elite intrigue and had, according to Jim Marrs, accumulated 3,000 pages of notes to be used for writing a book. He died in mysterious circumstances and was almost certainly murdered. His notes were taken away and a sanitised version made public after one year! Just before he died, almost fifteen months before the outbreak of the Korean War, he had revealed that American soldiers would die in Korea!"

This is in regards to a James Forrestal. the first secretary of defense of the united states.
He was right up there with the big wigs and no doubt was privy to secrets and plans of powerful people behind the scenes.
He kept a diary I am assuming with some damning evidence and died under mysterious circumstances. it was ruled a suicide but the general consensus was that he was murdered. (suicided)

I looked into it a bit and was not able to find much.
Apparantly the diary was taken by some department and an edited version of it was published later.


You can read some more here

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.544.139&rep=rep1&type=pdf


Review meeting of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child

As we know, North Korea has an abysmal record on human rights.
They were confronted with awkward questions regarding their conduct in regards to child rights and were struggling to come up with answers.
These delegates would have to take a special course in lying before attending...


http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=14764&cataId=nk02500

Looks like starvation for North Koreans is coming back

The article puts it down to a drought at the beginning of the year, sanctions and heavy spending on missile development.
The people on the collective farms suffered most because of the bad harvest and they cant get to the market.
It also says that guards and civilians are sneaking into China again to steal food.
I didn't know this was possible with the increased surveillance and electrified fences.


http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=14767&cataId=nk01500

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

North Korean regimes economic mistakes over the years

Stumbled upon this short video giving a timeline of the regimes economic blunders over the decades.

It's only 4 minutes long but it gives an overview of how the south overtook the north in economic strength.


And here is the video


Monday, October 16, 2017

Communism and Human Rights

  Nowadays when hearing about Communism and Communists states, some people may imagine radical movements or even brutal massacres, but the idea of communism is old and can even be traced to ancient Greece. Indeed, Plato was probably the first to mention about Communism and establishment of an Utopia.

  However, although Communism being a neutral term which is mainly associated to the field of Economics, the structure is vulnerable toward dictators, to use it as a tool for greater power. Looking back at the history of Communism, we can find Stalin's policy to "deliberately reduce country's population into half"; Mao's "Cultural Revolution" which caused millions of casualties, and Pol Pot's "Khmer Rouge" which killed 1/4 of Cambodians.

  Seemingly optimistic for the poor that "wealthy class be knocked down and wealth be equalized", the poor class eventually realized that it was a lie, as the wealth the Communists snatched from the bourgeoisie only went to Communists themselves rather than for all. Many Communist regimes also ban religions, in order to let the people worship the party or the founder as their god. (It is true that even modern days, Stalin, Mao, and the Kim family is worshipped as gods by many people in those countries)

  I'm not saying that people of non-Communist countries are all protected with Human Rights (some Islamic countries are also notorious for lack of freedom and equality), but the nature of Communism being Economic, and easy for governors to abuse, the issue of Human Rights becomes less important for Communist states. Governors, and sometimes even civilians, prioritize the Nation ahead of rights, thus people are willing to sacrifice themselves as long as it benefits the country.

"University Student’s Group for Unification (통일대학생동아리연합)" is a united group of college students from 9 universities in South Korea for the unification of Korea

Some South Korean college students and some college students who were former North Korean refugees organized a united group of 9 school clubs representing 9 universities in South Korea.
The official name of the group is "University Student's Group for Unification (통일대학생동아리연합)".

Even though their majors at universities are different and they are attending different universities, there is one common thing between them. They get together to be friends to each other and discuss the ways toward the harmonious unification of Korea.

The list of members of "University Student's Group for Unification".

The Catholic University of Korea (가톨릭대학교),
Korea University (고려대학교),
Dongguk University (동국대학교),
Sogang University (서강대학교),
Sookmyung Women's University (숙명여자대학교),
Yonsei University (연세대학교),
Chungang University (중앙대학교),
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (한국외국어대학교),
Hanyang University (한양대학교)


https://www.facebook.com/Tongdaedongyeon/

They participate in volunteer service at the Seoul National Cemetery. They meet regularly four times a year and enjoy sports games together such as skiing.

I think this is a good sample of the harmonious unification of Korea. Such group activities of college students will have a great influence on spreading the idea of Korea's harmonious unification.

http://www.rfa.org/korean/weekly_program/defectors_life/defectorsklife-09292017103253.html


"University Student's Group for Unification" participated in a Forum hosted by "the Institute for Peace Affairs" to discuss the unification of Korean Peninsula.  


South Korean college students and college students who were former North Korean refugees held a meeting whose topic is "Let us talk about the unification of Korea".


"University Student's Group for Unification" hosted indoor sports games for members to be more intimate with each other.


"University Student's Group for Unification" received an award from Korea National Cemetery because of its dedicated volunteer service for the cemetery.


Members of "University Student's Group for Unification" took pictures in front of Korea National Cemetery. The cemetery was established for veterans who died in Korean independence Movement under the Japanese Colonial Rule, Korean War, and Vietnam War.

Sources of Pictures: Jae Duk Seo, Vice-President of "University Student's Group for Unification"
Animation GIF image: Susie Han (Susie Maria Han), Woodbridge High School, Irvine, California

Saturday, October 14, 2017

NK Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea sent 900 kilogram rice in 900 bottles.

NK Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea, a non-profit organization for North Koreans, sent 1984 pound (900 kilograms) rice in 900 bottles.

North Korea is short of in rice because rice fields were damaged by a flood.
The non-profit organization wanted to directly help North Koreans by sending rice in a bottle.
Hopes for the unification of Korea are delivered in the bottle with rice.

Kim Jong Un is spending money to develop missiles while North Korean people are suffering from starvation.

http://pub.chosun.com/client/news/viw.asp?cate=C01&mcate=M1006&nNewsNumb=20161222381&nidx=22382


Health and Environmental issues in North Korea

  As the frequency of nuclear test has skyrocketed recently, international peace has become a hot topic. However, the Health issues of local and neighboring people can be another major concern.

  The continuous nuke tests so far have caused earthquakes and radiation pollution in the related zones. A defector describes that children born with deformity and nuclear-affected workers are often observed. It is also said that residents near the affected zones have high chance to develop leukemia and other kinds of cancer. Lifespan of local people is shorter compared with other places.

  The pollution has even crossed the border, into China. It has caused panic among residents of north-eastern provinces of China, especially those living close to North Korean border. Radioactive pollutants can 'travel' through air, food and water, causing severe health problems. Moreover, since they are invisible, it becomes easy for governments to cover up the facts

.

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Duru Middle School in Sejong City donated the award's prize money to North Korean refugees.

Duru Middle School in Sejong City donated the award's prize money to North Korean refugees.
The amount of the prize money is 800,000 Korean Won, equal to about 720 dollars.
It is a big amount of money to middle school students.

The Discussion team from Duru Middle School won a discussion contest for the unification of Korea.
In the meantime to prepare for the contest they realized how miserable the lives of North Korean refugees before their arrival to South Korea. All the discussion team members unanimously decided to donate their award's prize money for North Korean refugee.

http://www.edunews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=41592


China crackdown on North Koreans hiding in China intesifying

I asked why this is happening and was looking around for answers and came across some different articles.

What I am getting is:
China does not want large numbers of refugees in its North Eastern Provinces since it could destabilize the region against the Chinese Government. (that's odd because there are already large numbers of North Korean refugees in this area)
It wants to keep good relations with the North Korean Regime by sending them back.

Maybe Seoul and China have an under the table agreement about the refugees.

Anyway, there are a few articles here for reading and I've taken a few quotes out of some of them.

I especially like the first one here. the person in the Quora said something interesting about the United States being so friendly with Saudi Arabia but conveniently forgetting to mention Saudi Arabias human rights abuses. since United States doesn't want to be associated with a human rights abusive country, they tell the corporate media not to mention it.
Same thing with China I guess....





http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=14755&cataId=nk00100


 https://theowp.org/china-cracking-down-on-north-korean-refugees/




https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-12-05/china-cracking-down-missionary-lifeline-helps-north-korean-refugees

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

This story is a good reminder of why we try to help North Koreans

Came across this story today.

Ex female prison guard tells of her time in camp 12 and others.




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4458844/Thousands-North-Korea-s-prisons-face-butchered.html#ixzz4fxJzQ3NU

Crystal meth epidemic in North Korea

From what I have been reading, this is becoming a big problem especially in the north of the country where the average North Korean is using it as well now.

It started way back in the 70's under Kim Il Sung to raise revenue for the regime but now there are many privately run meth labs producing the drug and much of this is being distributed amongst the population.

From what I have been reading, most North Koreans do not know about the adverse effects and are getting hooked on it.
They take it because it increases awareness in that it allows the user to stay awake longer and be more alert. they also see it as a painkiller and relaxant in place of medicine which is hard to get.

This is very bad because it will ruin individuals and families. it will be a degradation of family unity and a fraying of society in general

You can look online and see the effects of regular use of the drug and it's not pretty.
I won't include any pictures of it in this post


This article is fairly recent. 2013



This article from the Dailynk goes back to 2007


https://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=11389&cataId=nk01500



This one was written by an intern Brian Liu for NKSC.
A good paper with lots of links to follow up on.

Kang Cheol Hwan is the founder of NKSC.
he was the author of the "Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten years in the North Korean gulag"


http://nksc.us/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/121815_A_Runaway_Train_BL.pdf

and some more reading here

https://www.hrnk.org/uploads/pdfs/SCG-FINAL-FINAL.pdf



Monday, October 9, 2017

You can see only 30 Hairstyles in North Korea

 

We all know that North Koreans enjoy far less degree of freedom compared with developed nations, even in the aspect of Hairstyles!

  In North Korea, civilians have only 30 choices of "Officially designated" hairstyles.
The number 30 may seem quite generous, but when looking closer, the styles bear little differences, as though the same head taken from different directions.



This policy was initiated after Kim Jong Un took power, but ironically his own style (resembling the shape of telephone) is not included among the 30 styles. And of course dyeing hair is out of question.

  He only allowed 28 previously (18 for female, 10 for male), and recently tried to provide "Equality" and thus making 15 for both genders respectively. But Kim still enjoys the privilege no civilians are entitled to, and never suffers from anything the civilians encounter everyday.

UN plans vaccine aid to North Korea

  According to Japanese news today, South Korean government announces that United Nations (UN) is aiding North Korea with 60 million vaccine...