Category Archives: Public Awareness
New Book Chapter Gives Voice to North Korean Refugees
Professor Tony Docan-Morgan of the University of Wisconsin has co-authored a book chapter that aims to give voice to North Korean refugees, and specifically looks at the experiences of North Korean refugee memoirists.
After examining the document, we found the contents to be an extremely useful reference to help people understand the suffering of North Korean people.
We recommend reading this document (or at the very least skimming it).
Here is the link to the document in Google books:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P76I0AKG6NLpKsSGwan_aoTcKEBUetuU/view
Or if you would rather download a PDF copy, click here.
Global Festa Japan 2016
Two former North Korean defectors, who have now resettled in Japan, talk about their own experiences
Global Festa Japan 2016 was held at Odaiba in Tokyo on October 1st and 2nd. This annual event was jointly hosted by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan NGO Center for International Cooperation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and several other Japanese governmental organizations. The major purpose of the festival, an International Cooperation Day, is to promote awareness of the need for the international cooperation and the importance of joint efforts between the governmental and citizen groups, as well as NGOs. During the two-day event, 269 organizations and groups participated and about 100,000 people visited.
Former NK Defector Speaks at One World Festival
Refugee Tells Her Story
Koh Jeong Mee talks about tortures she has experienced.
On Feb. sixth and seventh LFNKR participated in the One World Festival held in Osaka, Japan to help boost the public’s awareness of the many human rights abuses that continue in North Korea.
At the yearly One World Festival, NGO/NPOs, international institutions, local administration and companies involved in international cooperation gather together to tell about their activities, and to hold symposia and panel discussions on such issues as peace, human rights and the environment.
The following is a brief summary of the report prepared by Mr. K.G., a member of LFNKR. It describes the testimony presented by Ms. Koh Jeong Mee, a former NK defector.
Terror in a Solitary Confinement Cell
The MC’s height is 165cm (5.5ft). This illustrates the small size of the cell.
LFNKR On Dec. 5, jointly hosted a seminar as one of the events held during the first week of December to help promote public awareness of the North Korean human rights issue. The seminar was titled “Terror of Whistle Blowers in a Solitary Confinement Cell.” To emphasize what it was really like, LFNKR specially created two full-size punishment cells not just for display but also to give participants the experience of being in the cages.
We invited Mr. Jeong Kwang-il, who has experienced being locked up in one of the punishment cells, to talk about the confinement and one of the tortures called “pigeon torture.” In the pigeon torture, a person’s hands are tied behind their back and handcuffed so that they can neither stand nor sit.
Mr. Jeong explains excruciating postures in the cage
Mr. Jeong Kwang-il is Director of No Chains for North Korea and the Director of Human Rights Investigations for North Korea Watch. He was confined in Yodok Concentration Camp, one of North Korea’s most notorious camps.
Read about his experiences in Yodok:
Many North Koreans are tortured and sent to the concentration camps without trial, just as Mr. Jeong was.
Public Eye Turning Away from North Korea’s Abuses
Translated From a Recent Issue of the LFNKR Newsletter
Tragedy Awaits Withdrawal from Activities for Human Rights in North Korea
By Ken Kato — ICNK Affiliate-Director, Human Rights in Asia
Milgram’s Experiment
TO~ everyone dedicated to maintaining human rights activities for the North Korean people:
One Volunteer’s Story
Ever wonder who does the behind-the-scenes work in an NGO like ours?
A while back Hiroshi Kato, who heads this organization, posted a call for volunteers – someone to help LFNKR with translation work. Since this NGO is made up almost exclusively of volunteers, and there’s always more to do than time available, we are always delighted to hear from those wanting to help.
One young lady in the US, a “Mrs M,” contacted us offering her assistance. Only thing was, she wasn’t sure her skills were good enough. We sent her a couple of short articles to try, and as it turns out, her skills were excellent. She’s been translating for us ever since.
And then the other day we wondered, would readers be interested in hearing how one volunteer started?
We thought that you, our readers, might indeed be interested, so here it is – Mrs M’s story:
Kato Participates in “Ask Me Anything” Session
Last year our Executive Director, Hiroshi Kato, participated in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit. It was his first-ever AMA and he was really impressed with the quality of the questions he received, which ranged from defectors’ life skills to misconceptions about North Korea. We have included the questions and answers he received, edited slightly for readability.
We hope you enjoy reading it, and feel free to add your own questions and comments on Facebook or Twitter!
Obituary
Rest in peace, Kenkichi Nakadaira
It is with great sadness that Life Funds for North Korean Refugees announces the passing of its founding Executive Director, Kenkichi Nakadaira at the age of 89 from heart failure.
We are deeply grateful for the selfless devotion he showed, becoming the bedrock of the fledgling organization that LFNKR then was. LFNKR, a recognized NPO, is the organization it is today because of the foundation that Nakadaira-sensei established. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Nakadaira-sensei for everything he has done and we express our deepest condolences to his family.