Why I Salute Shin Dong-hyuk’s Frustration
Greg Scarlatoiu
Executive Director
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK)
On July 30, the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
International Summer School (HUFS ISS) and the Committee for Human Rights in
North Korea (HRNK) co-hosted a conference entitled “The North Korean Human
Rights Conundrum: Is There a Way Forward?” The conference panelists included:
ROK Human Rights Ambassador Lee Jung-hoon; choreographer and human rights
activist Kim Young-soon; “Escape from Camp 14” hero Shin Dong-hyuk; senior
analyst and North Korean escapee Kim Kwang-jin; and Tim Peters, activist,
humanitarian, and “guardian angel” of North Korean refugees.
Media in attendance accurately reported that Shin Dong-hyuk,
symbol of the campaign to dismantle North Korea’s political prison camps,
appeared disappointed and frustrated, even going as far as calling seminars on
North Korean human rights “a waste of time.” However, while Shin’s anger doesn’t
make the organizers’ life any easier, it is an encouraging sign. Demetra Choi, former
managing director of HUFS ISS, noted: “When Shin spoke a year ago, he somberly
told us he had no feelings. One year later, he appears angry and frustrated. A
much needed healing process is under way…” As others observed, Shin’s emotions
seem to mirror the pattern experienced by Holocaust survivors. For more than
two years, as he spoke at events around the world, he’s had to relive the 23
years he spent at Camp 14. Always expected to revisit excruciating memories day
in and day out, to speak of induced starvation, slave labor, torture, of having
witnessed the killing of close relatives and children, he has never truly “escaped”
from Camp 14… I salute his frustration. It is part of the process of moving
beyond being just a symbol, and becoming a leader of the movement that will one
day dismantle North Korea’s vast system of unlawful imprisonment.
Through the enthusiastic work of HUFS management, staff, and
interns, the conference on North Korean human rights has become an annual
fixture. Initially designed to be just a lecture given to foreign and Korean students
participating in the university’s International Summer Program, the event is now
attended by foreign diplomats, human rights activists, and NGO workers, and
gets extensive press coverage. The number of participants increased from 200 in
2013 to about 250 in 2014. The inspiring 2014 keynote address by ROK Human
Rights Ambassador Lee Jung-hoon added further depth and legitimacy to this
initiative. Students unfamiliar with “Escape from Camp 14” burned the midnight
oil to read it, in anticipation of meeting Shin. Nobody was offended, but all
were inspired by his visible frustration. Students from all continents thought
that having their photo taken with Shin was the highlight of their summer
program. Some of them have decided to set up student organizations addressing
North Korean human rights. Some of them have asked for advice on becoming human
rights activists or humanitarian workers involved in North Korea.
Perhaps Ms. Kim Young-soon’s remarks resonated deepest with
the audience. A former choreographer and close friend of North Korea’s elites,
she was imprisoned for nine years at Yoduk political prison camp. Her “crime?”
Knowing too much about Kim Jong-il’s personal life. At Yoduk, she lost three
sons, a daughter, and both parents. She rolled up their bodies in straw mats,
and buried them with her own hands. In her mid-70s now, she told the audience:
“The people of the world can live long and happy lives, go to sleep every night
and wake up every morning without even once thinking of North Korea. It is this
type of event that reminds the world of the atrocities happening in that
country. Thank you for being here to listen to us tonight.”
Ms. Kim said: “No dictatorship lasts
forever, and neither will this one. I may not be getting any younger, but I
promise you, for as long as I can continue, I will never give up the fight for
North Korean human rights… ” Thank you, Ms. Kim Young-soon. Neither will I, or
any of my colleagues. If Kim Jong-un is not yet sharing a cell with Ratko
Mladic just six months after the release of the UN COI report, it doesn’t mean
that all is lost. The higher ground is ours to keep. Shin Dong-hyuk has been a
symbol. He will soon be ready to be a leader.
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