A former
political prison guard and former prisoner will
appear together at an event on August
2nd to discuss the state of human rights
in North Korea.
Born
in Camp 14, one of the worst in a brutal system of political
prisons, Shin Dong Hyuk escaped at the age of 23 and is purported to be the only
individual to have successfully done so. Meanwhile, one-time prison guard at Camp 22 in North
Hamkyung Province, Ahn Myong Chol fled the country in 1994 to found NK Watch,
an organization dedicated to improving human rights in North Korea.
The two will discuss the harsh life at the camps, their escape, and how they came
together as activists to improve the lives of North Koreans. The
event will also include discourse on educating youths in South Korea about the state of human
rights in North Korea and their role in improving it. Separate time will be devoted to discussion
of the problems facing defectors in China and what can be done to resolve them.
NK
Watch Director Namgoong Min said to Daily NK, “Political prison camps are the
most flagrant of North Korea’s human rights abuses. These two people lived
vastly different lives inside those walls and have come together to educate the
public about the life people face there.”
The event will be held at Seoul’s Olympic Parktel on August 2nd at 1pm.
