Basic Facts About the Prison Camps
North Korea has a complex system of unlawful detention and forced labor. The two large-scale facilities known as “prison camps” in English are termed kwan-li-so and kyo-hwa-so in Korean. (David Hawk, author of HRNK’s Hidden Gulag reports.)
|
There are four known political prison camps and over twenty prison labor camps spread throughout North Korea. Kim Il-sung, North Korea's first leader, modeled the prison camps on the Soviet gulags, and over the past six decades, North Korea's prison system has grown tremendously. Today it is estimated that between 80,000 and 120,000 people are currently imprisoned in these camps. North Koreans are imprisoned for actions that are guaranteed as universal rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and prosecuted as anti-state criminals. Once imprisoned, these North Koreans are subjected to torture, forced starvation, punishment for practicing religion, and execution. Prisoners are controlled through forced labor and hunger, and develop chronic health issues due to a lack of food and diversity of food sources. Depending on the crime, prisoners can spend decades, or even the remainder of their entire lives in these prison camps, and some prisoners are even born into the system. Humans imprisoned in these conditions have a greatly reduced lifespan, and former prisoners have said that detainees may be forced to dig their own graves and watch the executions of their fellow prison mates.
Pellagra, a vitamin deficiency that causes chronic diarrhea, dermatitis, and dementia, is common among prisoners due to malnutrition. Hungry prisoners are desperate to find anything they can eat, including rodents, bugs, tree bark, grass, and lizards, but prisoners caught eating these things may be beaten or killed by prison guards. |
David Hawk speaks about North Korean Prison Camps in preparation for the release of Hidden Gulag IV.
|
Below: Former prisoner Mr. Kim Kwang-il's descriptions of life in a prison camp, as depicted by artist Kwon Hyo Jin and submitted to the UN Committee of Inquiry.
What Makes the Camps Unique
Unlike the gulags of the former Soviet Union, in North Korea, not only is the purported offender imprisoned, but up to three generations of their family may also be imprisoned for supposed political offenses. Punishable offenses are commonly categorized as "wrong-doing," "wrong-thinking," and "wrong-associating," but any offense deemed "anti-state" could cause a citizen to be imprisoned.
Typically, there is no fair process for being sent to one of these gulags. People are not told what "crimes" they have committed, are not given an attorney or an opportunity to defend themselves, and there is no requirement to have evidence presented in any judicial setting. The prison camp conditions are so egregious that, according to the UN Commission of Inquiry, they amount to crimes against humanity, and many people do not survive detention because of the physical and mental hardships and human rights violations.
Typically, there is no fair process for being sent to one of these gulags. People are not told what "crimes" they have committed, are not given an attorney or an opportunity to defend themselves, and there is no requirement to have evidence presented in any judicial setting. The prison camp conditions are so egregious that, according to the UN Commission of Inquiry, they amount to crimes against humanity, and many people do not survive detention because of the physical and mental hardships and human rights violations.
