The Hidden Gulag - US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
The Hidden Gulag - US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
The Hidden Gulag - US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Hidden</strong> <strong>Gulag</strong> Second EditionAccord<strong>in</strong>g to all the refugee accounts, the <strong>North</strong><strong>Korea</strong>n police authorities make no secret ofthe DPRK’s objective: prevent<strong>in</strong>g women whobecame pregnant <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a from giv<strong>in</strong>g birth to“half-Ch<strong>in</strong>ese” babies fathered by Han Ch<strong>in</strong>ese,Ch<strong>in</strong>a’s major ethnic group. It makes no differenceif the pregnancies resulted from traffick<strong>in</strong>g,or coerced or voluntary marriages between<strong>Korea</strong>n women and Han Ch<strong>in</strong>ese men <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a.In these testimonies, there seems little differencebetween <strong>for</strong>ced-abortion and <strong>in</strong>fanticide;many of the aborted fetuses are not “still born”but viable and able to survive if they had beentreated as premature births.Many of the testimonies that follow reveal howhalf-Ch<strong>in</strong>ese babies were killed.Forced Repatriation: S<strong>in</strong>uijuCorridorWITNESS: Ms. Choi Yong-hwaRefouled at S<strong>in</strong>uiju, 2002Ms. Choi Yongh-hwa is a shy and soft-spokenwoman from Hoeryong, <strong>North</strong> Hamgyongprov<strong>in</strong>ce. Be<strong>for</strong>e flee<strong>in</strong>g to Ch<strong>in</strong>a, Choi hadlived with her father and younger brother whilework<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> a distribution center. But as the foodsituation <strong>in</strong> <strong>North</strong> <strong>Korea</strong> deteriorated between1996 and 1998, and as the country’s distributionsystem broke down, she left that work tobecome a petty trader, mostly sell<strong>in</strong>g cuttlefish,<strong>in</strong> order to make enough money to provide food<strong>for</strong> her family. When the petty market<strong>in</strong>g didnot generate enough money <strong>for</strong> food, she paid atrafficker 200 won to take her to Ch<strong>in</strong>a <strong>in</strong> 1998.She worked at a restaurant <strong>in</strong> Yanji, Ch<strong>in</strong>a, andthen as a tour guide <strong>for</strong> visit<strong>in</strong>g South <strong>Korea</strong>ns<strong>in</strong> Dalian. Caught by Ch<strong>in</strong>ese police <strong>in</strong> Dalian,she was held <strong>for</strong> a month be<strong>for</strong>e be<strong>in</strong>g sent toDandong, where she was turned over to <strong>North</strong><strong>Korea</strong>n police.Interrogated by the Bo-wi-bu State SecurityAgency police <strong>in</strong> S<strong>in</strong>uiju, Choi conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>glydenied meet<strong>in</strong>g South <strong>Korea</strong>ns <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a. Shewas also explicitly questioned about attend<strong>in</strong>gChristian churches <strong>in</strong> Ch<strong>in</strong>a. Her <strong>in</strong>terrogatorsthreatened to send her to Chongo-ri kyo-hwa-so<strong>in</strong> <strong>North</strong> Hamgyong prov<strong>in</strong>ce, 109 which she hadheard about from a neighbor who had been sent109 Described on p. 85 of this report.123
Change language