Liberty in North Korea

Last week, a group from the association “Liberty in North Korea” came to talk to some history classes at Mission Bay High. This association is traveling all over the United States and parts of Canada to inform High school students about the repressive regime that the North Korean people are facing right now. They are denied the rights of free speech, free movement and

information freedom.

The North Korean people is also facing a famine with ¼ children who are chronically malnourished.

The repressive government also set up political prison camps. If people watch smuggled DVDs, or say things against the government they will be imprisoned in those terrible camps. Some of the punishments that the prisoners endure are torture, forced labor, internal exile and execution.

We interviewed a sophomore at Mission Bay High School, Addie Sarad about this issue. “During the presentation, i learned about the wide range of human atrocities that are being committed daily by the Korean Regime. I learned about the death camps that people are sent to because they “violated the government”. These people are sent to those camps with three generations of their family. That means that if you were persecuted, your mother and grandmother would have to go to the camps as well even if they did not commit a crime. These camps are extremely brutal and inhumane. Innocent Korean people are killed in these camps daily, and tortured. there is only one way out of these camps and it is very hard to succeed. There is a large range of security forces surrounding every area of the camp, which makes every escape almost impossible. There are five camps in North Korea. You can be sent to those camps for something as simple as watching a video tape, not dressing in uniform, disrespecting higher authority, saying something bad against the government, or not attending a government meeting. Then there is the sex industry, one of the most inhumane acts of all this. Many women are sold to men as prizes. Then raped. Then sold somewhere else. This starts at a very young age. Rape is a normal thing there, even though it is so brutal.”

We then asked her if she was going to get involved with LiNK, “When i turn 18, I am going to try and become an intern for LiNK and I will hopefully make a difference by volunteering.

The repressive regime and camps in North Korea remind me of an event that happened almost 80 years ago, The Holocaust and the concentration camps. the Holocaust was such a devastating event that killed millions of Jews in Europe. We all have to make sure that the situation in North Korea does not turn into that. If more associations like LiNK are set up, and more students and people get involved and help, the North Korean people will gain the freedom that they deserve.

We at the Beachcomber had the chance to speak with the group that came to speak to a couple classes. They told to us about some internships that they have, where there will be workshops to learn about this issue, some speakers and survivors of these camps. Liberty in North Korea sends help to North Korea and rescues many prisoners and bring them to safety in China, or in the United States. Rescuing one prisoner requires a lot of money, anyone who can send money and who can help should do so because LiNK will then be able to rescue more and more innocent people.

This is an important issue and it’s amazing that an association like this exists and helps the North Korean people gain their liberty. More high schoolers should get involved, go to the internships and become a “nomad” which is someone who is part of the association and a group like the one who came to talk to us. The nomads travel the United States to inform other high schoolers and people.

https://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/