North Korea is a place with almost mythical qualities; with limited access to the country itself and only the smallest trickle of media coverage, it remains a great unknown.
Today has seen the reveal of one of the most shocking news stories about North Korea and the practises of leader Kim Jong-un; there are claims that the dictator had his alleged ex-girlfriend, pop star Hyon Song-wol, and 12 other popular musicians publicly executed by firing squad. The charges against them included filming pornography with the intent to sell the footage for profit.
There are are rumours that the victims had been discovered with Bibles, which would classify them as political dissidents. Professor Toshimitsu Shigemura of Waseda University in Toyko has studied North Korean affairs extensively, and told the Daily Telegraph:
“If these people had only made pornographic videos, then it is simply not believable that their punishment was execution… They could have been made to disappear into the prison system there instead… There is a political reason behind this.”
Considering that North Korea operates under a dictatorship in which freedom or religion, speech and movement is prohibited, the fact that the musicians were in possession of Christian literature would have worsened their punishment. Professor Shigemura also hinted that the victims may have had political leanings to a different faction. Friends and relatives of the musicians were forced to watch the execution before being condemned to serve in one of the now notorious prison camps present in North Korea, as there is a policy of being guilty by association that is always enforced.
Related: In-Depth: Religious Freedom in the Hermit State
This is not the first case of brutality in the name of supposed justice displayed in North Korea under the rule of Kim Jong-un. Kim Choi, army vice minister, was executed by mortal round in October last year. Allegedly Jong-un ordered for there to be no trace of him left, hence the drastic form of punishment chosen. His crime was consuming alcohol during the official mourning period of Kim Jong-il, former dictator and father of Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-il also had a history of abusing his power. A list of so called “facts” about the previous leader was released during his lifetime that stated, among other things, that he had been born under a double rainbow, could control the weather with his feelings, had invented the hamburger and called it “double bread with meat” and that he did not require the use of toilets as he did not defecate.
Related: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About North Korea
In 1978, he kidnapped two directors, Shin Sang Ok and Choi Eun Hee, and held them against their will to ensure that they made a remake of classic Japanese film ‘Godzilla’. The remake is called ‘Pulgasari’. There are even rumours that he kidnapped citizens who had forms of dwarfism to make sure that they could not have children and pass on their genetics, as they were viewed as defective.
Many of these things seem fantastical and almost funny, they sound so unrealistic. But they are happening, and they are affecting the lives of the people who live in North Korea. Over the past 5 years, approximately 12,360 people have defected from North to South Korea. Citizens of North Korea live by strict guidelines as to what they can say, do, wear, eat and work as. Daily amenities are in short supply, and many defectors cite lack of heat, water and food as their main reason for leaving the country, though the desire for freedom is often a reason, too.
Related: Google Earth Uncovers North Korea’s Secret Concentration and Detention Camps
Famine and lack of medicine means that quality of life is poor; in the early 1990s, citizens were encouraged to restrict themselves to 2 meals a day. The famine ended in 1998, but there are still claims of drastic measures taken to ensure survival and full nutrition. There have even been rumours of cannibalism; disturbingly, a man was convicted in January this year after being charged with eating human flesh. However, it has been difficult to prove or disprove this.
Jong-un seems set to continue inhumane practises. These include public executions, torture, malnourishment and deaths caused by extreme labour.
Prison camps eerily reminiscent of the gulags of Stalinist Russia have been reported as operating in North Korea. Present during the rule of previous generations of the Kim family, Jong-un seems set to continue inhumane practises. These include public executions, torture, malnourishment and deaths caused by extreme labour.
Unfortunately, North Korea currently operates outside the jurisdiction of the UN, so little can be done in terms of confirmation of such treatment and subsequent intervention. It is thanks to defectors courageously speaking out about their experiences that information like this is now known. There has even been a recent TED talk by Hyeonseo Lee, a defector, about her life and escape from North Korea.
North Koreans who defect and move across the border to South Korea are often met with discrimination. There is a stereotype that they are dirty, poorly educated and less skilled, so they have a lower employment rate and sometimes are even paid lower wages. Many are suspected of being spies. However, these attitudes are slowly changing, thanks to defectors choosing to vocalise their stories.
There is a government resettlement centre called Hanawon that aims to help rehabilitate North Koreans, who may struggle with adjusting to life, from choosing a job to using technology and appliances that we would take for granted, such as washing machines. There is even a television show, the name of which can be loosely translated as “Now On My Way To Meet You”, that features a panel of women who are defectors who share their horror stories, dance, sing and joke with the hosts. This is helping to destigmatise the reputation of defectors as strange, untrustworthy and backward.
Such extremism is worrying. Although there seems to be little that can challenge Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship currently, North Korean defectors who are brave enough to share their stories are shedding light on the atrocities that occur behind the border. Information is power, and hopefully continuing evidence can be used to help those still suffering.
Originally published on the Urban Times.
[…] presides over the most repressive and volatile countries in the world, a man who only a week ago executed his ex-girlfriend among a dozen well-known North Korean performers by firing squad over a sex […]