| |  [ Tour details here ]
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 Dong Hyuk SHIN shows his former home, the Kaechon Concentration Camp in North Korea, on Google Earth.
US TOUR OF NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR BORN & RAISED IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP
Washington,
DC – LiNK will be hosting North Korean defector Dong-hyuk SHIN on a
speaking tour entitled, “Born and Raised in a Concentration Camp,” from
Wednesday, April 30 to Wednesday, May 14. Shin will recount his
experiences as a North Korean who was born into slavery as a political
prisoner in a North Korean concentration camp.
After some
relatives defected, Shin’s father, grandparents, and uncle were deemed
treasonous and sent to separate camps. His father was sent to Political
Prison Camp No. 14 in Kaechon, South Pyongan province, which houses
approximately 60,000 inmates and is about 50 miles north of Pyongyang.
For good behavior, he was permitted to marry a fellow inmate. Dong-hyuk
SHIN was born on Nov. 19, 1982 and called the camp home until 2005.
While
at the camp, Shin endured daily beatings, torture, starvation-level
rations, saw forced abortions and even witnessed the public execution
of his mother and brother in 1996. Shin described his life of total
isolation from the world: “In South Korea, although there is
disappointment and sadness, there is also so much joy, happiness and
comfort. In Kaechon, I did not even know such emotions existed. The
only emotion I ever knew was fear: fear of beatings, fear of
starvation, fear of torture and fear of death.”
The speaking
tour will be held in Washington, DC (4/30-5/5); New York City
(5/6-5/8); Chicago (5/9-5/10); San Francisco (5/11-5/13); Los Angeles
(5/13); and Irvine, California (5/14).
LiNK’s Executive Director
Adrian Hong and Deputy Director Hannah Song will accompany Shin on the
tour and will be speaking about the broader issue of human rights in
North Korea, as well as the current refugee situation and LiNK’s
resettlement activities.
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| | Posted 5/2/2008 2:23 PM
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