Justin Wheeler
By Ashley Andrews, 700 Club Interactive
CBN.com –For those of us in the US, the Korean War ended in 1953, nearly 60 years ago. But for the Korean people, the battle for freedom still wages on. Today, "North Korea is one of the world's most tragic humanitarian disasters," but very few know this. For over half a century, whole villages have starved; parents have abandoned their families, escaping to China in hopes of finding food and work; mothers and sisters have fallen into the hands of sex traffickers; and children have become their own caregivers, fending for themselves. For those who escaped to China, they have had no choice but to live-out their lives in hiding. They have become refugees, grieving the day they may be captured and sent to prison camps. They live each day in fear, and more often than not, their fears become their reality.
THEIR HISTORY, THEIR STRUGGLE
In 1945, Korea was liberated after Japan was defeated in World War II. The country was later divided at the 38th parallel in accordance with a United Nations arrangement - the Soviet Union took the north, and the United States took the south. Both, however, were unable to agree on the implementation of Joint Trusteeship over Korea, which led to the establishment of separate governments, each claiming to be the legitimate government of Korea. The Soviets installed former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist Kim Il Sung as leader of the Korean Workers' Party in the north, and the US installed exiled political leader Rhee Syngman as president of the south. In 1948, the Soviets and Americans withdrew, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea were established.
In 1950, the north invaded the south. Three years later, an armistice ended the war, and over two million Koreans had lost their lives. In 1972, the north and south began to talk about unification, then in 1991, both joined the UN. After three years, Kim Il Sung died and his son, Kim Jong Il, took over as leader. Two years later, over 1 million starved to death from severe famine and floods. The government announced it would no longer abide by the armistice and sent troops into the demilitarized zone separating the north and south. It is currently the most heavily fortified border in the world.
In 2001, North Korea experienced its worst drought in history, as 6.5 million people starved again. That same time, North Korean defectors began testifying of torture, public executions, forced abortions and other human rights violations in government-run prison camps. In 2003, the north withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which initiated six party-talks to end North Korea's weapons program. Negotiations went on for six years. Then in 2007, North Korea experienced devastating floods yet again, causing the government to request aid from the international community. In 2009, North Korea withdrew from the six-party talks.
THEIR FUTURE
For those at LiNK (Liberty in North Korea), a non-profit human rights organization, their concern isn't the future of Korea's weapon's program - it's the future of the Korean people. "While the world focuses on North Korea's security issue, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans continue to be enslaved in prison camps today. Up to 300,000 have escaped to China - seeking food, medicine, work, or freedom from political and religious oppression. Among the 300,000, 70 to 90 percent of North Korean women are trafficked and sold into the sex trade, and more and more refugees are fleeing to Southeast Asia to escape imprisonment upon repatriation from the Chinese government." LiNK argues that North Korea deserves better - that "the North Korea crisis deserves a greater response." And they believe this will only happen if the world can hear their stories - which leads to KiNK.
LiNK is a team of storytellers - the best kind there is. Since their start in 2004, the LiNK team has taken stories of the North Korean's persecution to schools, universities and social networks. They host national awareness tours that use "film, stories of refugees and creative media to educate communities of the North Korea crisis, and provide opportunities to change the lives of North Koreans through their local Chapters that continue building awareness, advocacy and funds for their programs and rescue operations." It is their prayer that through these stories, they will be able to "redefine the way people think about North Korea and its people..." And, one recent film by Justin Wheeler, Vice President of LiNK and former member of Invisible Children, seeks to do just that.
The Challenges
The list is long, the challenges that the North Korean people face continually. As reported by the UN, the human rights condition is "in a category of its own, and 'harrowing and horrific." In order to stay in power, the regime has to enforce brutal repression. The elite rule with prison camps, collective punishment and executions in the public arena in order to keep the people in the grips of their political oppression.
* No Freedom of Speech- There is no "free media, if you speak againt leadership, you and your family will be imprisoned. Only the Regime has a "voice."
* No Freedom of Movement- The only way to leave the country legally is to be granted permission by the government. That also includes movement within North Korea. The capital is Pyongyang and most are denied the right to travel there. There has been a forced relocation of North Koreans to live in the least favorable areas of the country. It is a form of mass persecution.
* Cult of Personality - The dictatorial rule that has been over North Korea for six plus decades has been centered and developed around the three generations of the Kim family. As young as nursery school and throughout the education system is the enforced "memorizing the history of the Kim family." The public is constantly fed "myths about the Kims and lauds the sacrifices that they supposedly make for the people.
* Chronic Food Shortages - in the 1990s' the Public Distribution System for food sypply collapsed. What they once relied on was gone, the political areas that drew the least approval were cut first and famine took the lives to at least one million people. The malnourished babies and youth, and women who are pregnant are the most effected even today. It has resulted in a generation "with stunted growth and higher susceptibility to health problems. That includes the universal health care system which leaves many sick with diseases that could have been treated.
There are more to this list however, as oppressive as this report states, according to their website,"Crucial yet little-known forces for change have been growin in North Korean society. Bottom-up change is already being driven through the people's incredible resilience and strength, despite the adversity and challenges they are faced with."