North&Korea,&or,&officially,&the&Democratic&People’s&Republic&of&Korea,&has&been& under&a&dictatorial&regime&since&the&late&1940s.&Under&the&rule&of&Kim&IlCSung,&Kim& JongCIl,&and&Kim&JongCUn,&horrific&labour&camps&have&been&used&as&punishments&for& offenses&that&range&from&arbitrary&comments&that,&taken&out&of&context,&could&be& considered&“treasonous”,&to&attempting&to&defect&from&North&Korea.&Every&person& arrested&and&sent&to&these&labour&camps&has&their&entire&family&sent&with&them&as& well,&and&the&following&two&generations&of&the&family&are&doomed&to&spend&their& entire&lives&in&these&camps.&& & The&camps&go&against&numerous&human&rights.&The&prisoners&are&starved,&worked& from&dawn&to&dusk,&forced&to&stand&in&stress&positions,&beaten,&and&raped,&among& other&atrocities.&At&one&point&there&were&around&200,000&people&being&held&in&these& camps;&these&days&it’s&closer&to&120,000.&To&read&a&true&story&about&growing&up&in&a& North&Korean&labour&camp,&read&Escape&From&Camp&14&by&Blaine&Harden.&A&list&of& the&human&rights&as&defined&by&the&UN&that&North&Korea&is&currently&violating&by& running&these&camps&is&below.& & Article(4:&No&one&shall&be&held&in&slavery&or&servitude;&slavery&and&the&slave&trade&shall& be&prohibited&in&all&their&forms.& Article(5:&No&one&shall&be&subjected&to&torture&or&to&cruel,&inhuman&or&degrading& treatment&or&punishment.& Article(9:&No&one&shall&be&subjected&to&arbitrary&arrest,&detention&or&exile.& Article(10:&Everyone&is&entitled&in&full&equality&to&a&fair&and&public&hearing&by&an& independent&and&impartial&tribunal,&in&the&determination&of&his&rights&and&obligations& and&of&any&criminal&charge&against&him.& Article(11:&(1)&Everyone&charged&with&a&penal&offence&has&the&right&to&be&presumed& innocent&until&proved&guilty&according&to&law&in&a&public&trial&at&which&he&has&had&all&the& guarantees&necessary&for&his&defence.& (2)&No&one&shall&be&held&guilty&of&any&penal&offence&on&account&of&any&act&or&omission& which&did&not&constitute&a&penal&offence,&under&national&or&international&law,&at&the&time& when&it&was&committed.&Nor&shall&a&heavier&penalty&be&imposed&than&the&one&that&was& applicable&at&the&time&the&penal&offence&was&committed.& Article(18:&Everyone&has&the&right&to&freedom&of&thought,&conscience&and&religion;&this& right&includes&freedom&to&change&his&religion&or&belief,&and&freedom,&either&alone&or&in& community&with&others&and&in&public&or&private,&to&manifest&his&religion&or&belief&in& teaching,&practice,&worship&and&observance.& Article(19:&Everyone&has&the&right&to&freedom&of&opinion&and&expression;&this&right& includes&freedom&to&hold&opinions&without&interference&and&to&seek,&receive&and&impart& information&and&ideas&through&any&media&and&regardless&of&frontiers.& Article(21:&(1)&Everyone&has&the&right&to&take&part&in&the&government&of&his&country,& directly&or&through&freely&chosen&representatives.& (2)&Everyone&has&the&right&of&equal&access&to&public&service&in&his&country.& (3)&The&will&of&the&people&shall&be&the&basis&of&the&authority&of&government;&this&will& shall&be&expressed&in&periodic&and&genuine&elections&which&shall&be&by&universal&and& equal&suffrage&and&shall&be&held&by&secret&vote&or&by&equivalent&free&voting&procedures.& Article(22:&Everyone,&as&a&member&of&society,&has&the&right&to&social&security&and&is& entitled&to&realization,&through&national&effort&and&international&coCoperation&and&in& accordance&with&the&organization&and&resources&of&each&State,&of&the&economic,&social&
and&cultural&rights&indispensable&for&his&dignity&and&the&free&development&of&his& personality.& Article(23:&(1)&Everyone&has&the&right&to&work,&to&free&choice&of&employment,&to&just&and& favourable&conditions&of&work&and&to&protection&against&unemployment.& (2)&Everyone,&without&any&discrimination,&has&the&right&to&equal&pay&for&equal&work.& (3)&Everyone&who&works&has&the&right&to&just&and&favourable&remuneration&ensuring&for& himself&and&his&family&an&existence&worthy&of&human&dignity,&and&supplemented,&if& necessary,&by&other&means&of&social&protection.& (4)&Everyone&has&the&right&to&form&and&to&join&trade&unions&for&the&protection&of&his& interests.& Article(24:(Everyone&has&the&right&to&rest&and&leisure,&including&reasonable&limitation&of& working&hours&and&periodic&holidays&with&pay.& Article(25:&(1)&Everyone&has&the&right&to&a&standard&of&living&adequate&for&the&health& and&wellCbeing&of&himself&and&of&his&family,&including&food,&clothing,&housing&and& medical&care&and&necessary&social&services,&and&the&right&to&security&in&the&event&of& unemployment,&sickness,&disability,&widowhood,&old&age&or&other&lack&of&livelihood&in& circumstances&beyond&his&control.& (2)&Motherhood&and&childhood&are&entitled&to&special&care&and&assistance.&All&children,& whether&born&in&or&out&of&wedlock,&shall&enjoy&the&same&social&protection.& Article(30:&Nothing&in&this&Declaration&may&be&interpreted&as&implying&for&any&State,& group&or&person&any&right&to&engage&in&any&activity&or&to&perform&any&act&aimed&at&the& destruction&of&any&of&the&rights&and&freedoms&set&forth&herein.& & &
It's been three weeks.
BUT every time i close my eyes, i see...
I can't sleep.
MEALS OF CHICKEN, CHESTNUTS, AND CARROTS...
... COOKED BY MY MOTHER, MONTHS AGO...
And the cramped cattle car that brought my family to Camp 8.
I SEE MY FATHER'S SHINY NORTH KOREAN FLAG PIN, AND THE FACE OF KIM ILSUNG...
... now confiscated and given to his successor.
and most frequently of all, i see my sister's execution.
Time passes in a blur, with little to no sleep, endless amounts of work, and i become thinner and thinner. My ribs and cheekbones are now visible.
last night, I wasn't sleeping, as usual, and i heard my mother crying.
I should just kill myself instead of giving them the chance.
I'm pregnant. if the guards find out, they'll kill me. don't tell anyone!
Without Mama, I'll be all alone...
Please don't die, mama.
Wrong, seong-min ! No lunch rations fo r you.
this morning, i tried to answer a question and got it wrong. I look up to see a boy with a head too big for his body.
I'm Song Ji-hun.
I'm staring at my empty plate when a bowl of soup is suddenly pushed in front of me!
Don't.. Don't you need your food?
I think you need it more than i do today. Don't worry, I'll be fine.
He better tell me something good - I need to report to the guards soon.
I just can't get my mother out of my mind.
Thank you so much.
My mother is pregnant. The guards will kill her..
... And then i'll be all alone. Why are you still upset?!
DON'T TELL ANYONE!! IT'S A SECRET.
I HOPE I'M NOT MAKING A MISTAKE TRUSTING SONG JI-HUN... I JUST NEEDED TO TELL SOMEONE! Don't worry. I won't tell a soul! yes!!! The guards will reward me well for this.
I can't wait to get my extra food. Today is the perfect day to tell the guards.
..
All guards look the same to me - mean, and lucky.
Su-jin!!!
Mama!!!
NOOO!!
Stop! no!!
I won't do it! you can't make me!
NOOO!
DROWN THE BABY.
NOW!!!
And then we watched my baby brother die.
MONTHS WENT BY. MY MOTHER SUNK INTO A DEEP DEPRESSION, BECOMING SO FRAGILE IT FELT LIKE A SIGH WOULD BREAK HER. AS SHE WITHERED AWAY BEFORE MY EYES, I BECAME NUMB TO THE WORLD AROUND ME...
... UNTIL, ONE NIGHT, SHE WHISPERED TO ME THE MOST DANGEROUS SENTENCE I HAD EVER HEARD.
!
Works Cited Cumming-Bruce, Nick. "U.N. Panel Urges International Action on North Korean Human Rights Abuses." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/18/world/europe/un-panel-urges-action-on-north-korean-rights-abuses .html?_r=0>. Notes: This article gives factual information on accounts given by defectors of atrocities witnessed by people held in the camps. 2013, 6:30PM GMT 21 Dec. "North Korean Defector Looks Back At Gulag He Escaped." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 28 June. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/10531572/North-Korean-defector-looks-back -at-gulag-he-escaped.html>. Notes: This article is about the same escapee as the book (Escape From Camp 14…) and there is a video in the article showing him looking at satellite images and showing the different parts of the camp that he was held in (Camp 14). This could be essential if I want to include a map of a camp in my book. Harden, Blaine. Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey From North Korea To Freedom In The West. New York: Viking, 2012. Print. Notes: This book is a very valuable resource. It tells the (real) story of a man who was born in a prison labor camp, and managed to escape to South Korea. The bulk of my research was from this book, and the articles were supplementary. UN General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948, 217 A (III), available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b3712c.html [accessed 18 April 2014] Notes: This declaration is the basis for this project in that the North Korean gulags go against many Human Rights.