 By Emily Gibson, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor and Benjamin Fu, HRNK Research Intern August 25, 2020 Historical Overview Characterizing the struggles under the North Korean regime as “hardship” is an understatement. This struggle is not the touted ideological struggle to reach a socialist paradise; rather, it is a battle to achieve a life of sustenance for the average North Korean. During the initial years of the Kim regime, North Korea rationed food to its people, albeit not equally. Even before the 1950 Korean War, food was not distributed equally among the people north of the 38th Parallel. Distribution was rather based on an individual’s level of devotion towards the military and one’s field of work. For example, workers in physically demanding blue-collar jobs were more likely to receive more desirable foods, such as white rice.[1] The food distribution system also favored the military. Korean historian Charles Armstrong reports that during the war, peasants ate acorns, pine bark, and grass, while soldiers were given rice three times a day.[2] This sentiment is known today as songun jeongchi, or “military-first” politics.[3] The food ration system was achievable through the destruction of private land ownership, the establishment of a centrally-planned socialist state, market suffocation, and the invention of Juche ideology also known as “self-reliance.[4]”
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 By Camille Freestone, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor August 13, 2020 Though none can escape the harsh reality of living in North Korea entirely, women often experience the lack of human rights and systematic violence of the totalitarian regime most acutely. They are often the most food insecure, the most vulnerable to domestic and sexual violence, and at high risk of being trafficked when attempting to escape. Though all people in North Korea must navigate a minefield of violence and oppression in order to survive, women face particular difficulties. But the unique challenges of existing as a North Korean woman do not end in the rare case of successful escape to South Korea. Within the escapee community in South Korea, women continue to face challenges, including difficulty adjusting to a new social order, high rates of domestic and economic abuse, difficulty accessing resources that should be readily available, and discrimination in the workplace. In many ways the Moon administration has exacerbated these struggles, creating an environment in which North Korean human rights groups are suppressed and individual escapee’s rights have been trampled in high-profile cases.  By Timothy Goo, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor and Benjamin Fu, HRNK Research Intern August 6, 2020 Between December 1959 and July 1984, more than 93,000 ethnic Koreans living in Japan returned to Supreme Leader Kim Il-sung’s communist state, North Korea, in hopes of securing a better future for themselves.[1] The assistance provided by the North Korea-affiliated General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, an organization that gained the support of more than 90% of ethnic Koreans in Japan and was often referred to as chongryun in Korean or soren in Japanese, allowed the regime to deceptively publicize itself as “paradise on Earth.”[2] One of the most effective forms of propaganda was distributing an image that included beautiful women removing luscious apples from a tree while surrounded by North Korea’s “modern” cityscapes.[3] Considering how the ethnic Korean population historically endured an arduous life in Japan due to pervasive ethnic discrimination, an absence of civil rights, and limited educational opportunities, one can deduce that this campaign motivated many Koreans to relocate to North Korea. Indoctrination in the Name of Education: A Tool for Maintaining the North Korean Dictatorship8/4/2020  By Hayoung Paik, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor and Camille Freestone, HRNK Research Intern August 4, 2020 Since its establishment, North Korea has prioritized free access to education at all levels. Similar to many other socialist countries, education has been a key tenet of forming and stabilizing North Korea’s socialist system. The number of years of compulsory education has gradually been extended since 1956, and the current Universal 12-year Compulsory Education system, which has been implemented under the Kim Jong-un regime, guarantees free compulsory education for all children ages 5 to 17.[1] North Korea has boasted about this system internally and externally as “the longest free and compulsory education in the world” and used it to propagandize the superiority of the socialist system.[2] However, we should not overlook the true nature and role of education in North Korea: it is the front line of ideological indoctrination and the most effective tool for ensuring the totalitarian regime’s survival. The North Korean education system itself should be considered a human rights infringement. Identities Lost: North Korea’s Human Rights Violations Against Individuals with Disabilities8/3/2020  By Emily Spaugh, HRNK Research Intern
Edited by Rosa Park, HRNK Director of Programs and Editor and Benjamin Fu, HRNK Research Intern August 3, 2020 All around the world, the fight for equal rights for people with disabilities is an uphill and seemingly endless battle. Even in developed countries, people with disabilities are often overlooked and undervalued. In any conversation about human rights, bringing people with disabilities to the table is imperative. In a situation as dire as the one in North Korea, it is almost unthinkable what someone with a disability may have to endure at the hands of the Kim regime, as they are one of the most vulnerable demographics in the world. |
DedicationHRNK staff members and interns wish to dedicate this program to our colleague Katty Chi. A native of Chile and graduate of the London School of Economics, Katty became a North Korean human rights defender in her early 20s. Katty was chief of international affairs with the North Korea Strategy Center (NKSC) in Seoul from 2010 to 2014 and worked with the Seoul Office of Liberty in North Korea (LinK) from 2019 to 2020. A remarkable member of our small North Korean human rights community, Katty brought inspiration and good humor to all. Katty passed away in Seoul this past May, at the young age of 32. She is survived by her parents and brother living in Chile. With the YPWP series, we endeavor to honor Katty’s life and work. Archives
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