NKhiddengulag
  • Home
  • About the Camps
    • Introduction
    • Kwan-li-so vs. Kyo-hwa-so
    • Locations
    • HRNK Reports
    • UN Commission of Inquiry
    • Transitional Justice
    • Handouts
  • Blog
  • Victims
    • Former Prisoner Testimony
    • Disappeared Persons
  • HRNK
    • About Us
    • HRNK in the News
    • Other Media Articles
    • HRNK Insider
  • Donate

NK Hidden gulag blog

News of the Weird: Altered Imagery of North Korea's Prison Camps Used to Show "Proof" of FEMA Concentration Camps

0 Comments

 
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) was the first organization to combine satellite imagery and escapee testimony to report on North Korea’s vast system of unlawful imprisonment, in the first Hidden Gulag report by David Hawk, published in 2003. HRNK has continued to use satellite imagery in its investigation and monitoring of North Korea’s political prison camps, most recently through a partnership with Colorado-based satellite imagery company AllSource Analysis (ASA).

Now it appears that HRNK’s satellite imagery-based reporting has become so well-known that it is being used by conspiracy theorists keen on concocting bizarre stories. It seems that satellite images from HRNK’s Hidden Gulag reports were used as “evidence” to “prove” that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been secretly building… concentration camps in America (!). Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) published an article stating that James Meigs, then editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics, noticed the images used by conspiracy theorists were actual images of forced-labor and political prison camps in North Korea.[1] The article reports that “the images, according to Popular Mechanics, were taken from a Washington D.C.-based human rights group’s report exposing North Korea’s hidden prison camps.”[2] The image is on page 118 of The Hidden Gulag. The image has absolutely nothing to do with the imaginary “FEMA camps.” It is actually an image of Kyo-hwa-so (Political Prison Camp) No.1 in Kaechon.
Picture
Altered image of Kyo-hwa-so (Political Prison Camp) No.1 in Kaechon, North Korea.
Conspiracy theorists further claimed that “there is a minimum of one confirmed concentration camp built on American soil in rural Wyoming.” They stated that such pictures were “accidentally released by the Department of Homeland security.” The fact is that these images were simply taken from The Hidden Gulag: Exposing North Korea’s Prison Camps. Though the images were slightly altered, they were initially published by the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea to raise awareness of North Korea’s gulags.[3] An estimated 400,000 people have died in North Korea’s political prison camp system since its establishment in the 1950s. Currently, there are 120,000 prisoners held inside the camps, in some instances members of three generations of the same family, detained together pursuant to yeon-jwa-je, a system of guilt-by-association inspired by feudal practices.
​
Greg Scarlatoiu, HRNK’s executive director said: “In a strange kind of way, the misuse of our satellite imagery by conspiracy theorists is troubling, but at the same time testament to the quality, breadth and depth of our public information campaigns. By the time your work has become the stuff of conspiracy theories, you know you must be doing something right…” Scarlatoiu further added: “In recent months, we have seen bizarre claims by self-proclaimed ‘Korea watchers,’ who have placed HRNK at the center of ‘conspiracy theories’ ranging from goofy to loopy. Individuals who seem to have become mentally unhinged went as far as to claim that the DMZ landmines that maimed two South Korean servicemen in early August were planted not by the Korean People’s Army, but by… human rights groups keen on regime change…”

By HRNK Intern Suhwan (Alma) Seo


[1] Mark Potok & Don Terry, “Margins to Mainstream,” Southern Poverty Law Center, October 27, 2015, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2015/margins-mainstream.

[2] Link to the Popular Mechanics article: http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/a12805/4312850/.

[3] Additional images taken from HRNK’s reports on North Korea’s prison camps were altered and used to show “evidence” of camps in Wyoming: http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/esp_sociopol_FEMA02.htm. These images depict the following prison camps in North Korea: 1) Kyo-hwa-so No. 1 Kaechon (p. 118 of Hidden Gulag); 2) Kwan-li-so No.22 Haengyong (p.114 of Hidden Gulag); 3) Kwan-li-so No. 18 Bukchang (p. 103 of Hidden Gulag); and 4) South Sinuiju Detention Center (p. 119 of Hidden Gulag).

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Student Corner & Blog

    Welcome to the NK Hidden Gulag Blog! This is a space where we will discuss North Korea’s political prison camp system in depth as well as other relevant issues in North Korean society. 

    Here you can find accounts from former North Koreans, commentary on North Korea’s prison camps, answers to your questions, and other interesting content!

    If you have any questions or would like to write for our blog, contact us at outreach@hrnk.org.




    RSS Feed

    Archives

    August 2018
    June 2018
    August 2017
    March 2017
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015

      Submit a Question, Blog Post, Poem, or Work of Art!

    Submit

    Categories

    All
    김일성 초상휘장
    생활총화
    청년동맹위원장과 청소년지도원
    2010 World Cup Team
    AllSource Analysis
    China
    Concentration Camps
    Crimes Against Humanity
    David Hawk
    Donald Trump
    DPRK
    DPRK Sports
    FEMA Conspiracy Theory
    FIFA
    Forced Abortion
    Forced Marriage
    Gender Discrimination
    Gender Repression
    Google Earth
    Greg Scarlatoiu
    Gulags
    Hidden Gulag
    HRNK
    Human Rights
    Human Trafficking
    Infanticide
    International Community
    Kim Il-sung
    Kim Il-sung Badge
    Kim Il-sung Cho-sang-hui-jang
    Kim Jong-suk
    Kim Jong Un
    Kim Jong-un
    Kwan Li So
    Kwan-li-so
    Kyo Hwa So
    Kyo-hwa-so
    Laogai
    May Day Stadium
    NK Athletes
    North Korea
    North Korean Athletes
    Olympic Games
    Political Prisoners
    Prison Camps
    Prisoner Testimony
    PyeongChang Olympics
    Red Youth Guard
    Refugees
    Saeng-hwal-chong-hwa
    Satellite Imagery
    School
    Self-criticism
    Sexual Exploitation
    Sexual Violence
    Singapore Summit
    Summit
    Technology
    The Game Of Their Lives
    Torture
    Trump Kim Summit
    UN Commission Of Inquiry
    United Nations
    World Cup
    Youth Alliance Chairman And Youth Instructors

    RSS Feed

Contact Us

Picture

© 2018 Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. All rights reserved.

DONATE
  • Home
  • About the Camps
    • Introduction
    • Kwan-li-so vs. Kyo-hwa-so
    • Locations
    • HRNK Reports
    • UN Commission of Inquiry
    • Transitional Justice
    • Handouts
  • Blog
  • Victims
    • Former Prisoner Testimony
    • Disappeared Persons
  • HRNK
    • About Us
    • HRNK in the News
    • Other Media Articles
    • HRNK Insider
  • Donate