"I knew nothing of love between fathers and sons."
December 1, 2014 10:12 AM Subscribe
Shin Dong-Hyuk, the only person born in a North Korean political prison camp known to have escaped, discusses the shock and guilt he feels upon learning that his elderly father, also a political prisoner, is still alive and is being used by the North Korean government to spread misinformation about Shin Dong-Hyuk.
He discovered that his father was still alive when the North Korean government released a Youtube video in which his father appears and purports to explain the truth about Shin Dong-Hyuk.
Previously 1, 2.
He discovered that his father was still alive when the North Korean government released a Youtube video in which his father appears and purports to explain the truth about Shin Dong-Hyuk.
Previously 1, 2.
Well that's a sad story.
posted by oceanjesse at 11:16 AM on December 1, 2014
posted by oceanjesse at 11:16 AM on December 1, 2014
Wow, yeah. I wish I had something more to offer than to acknowledge how sad this situation is. I am glad that Shin is not shutting up though, as painful as that must be for both him and his father.
For the victims in North Korea:
.
posted by sparklemotion at 11:35 AM on December 1, 2014
For the victims in North Korea:
.
posted by sparklemotion at 11:35 AM on December 1, 2014
"'Human rights' racket." That's... telling.
posted by Anne Neville at 12:11 PM on December 1, 2014
posted by Anne Neville at 12:11 PM on December 1, 2014
I've been following this guy since he appeared on 60 Minutes some time ago. His story is absolutely mind-blowing to me. I can't wrap my head around how this is actually happening in 2014, in real-life. Unreal.
posted by nevercalm at 12:45 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by nevercalm at 12:45 PM on December 1, 2014 [3 favorites]
I've been following this guy since he appeared on 60 Minutes some time ago. His story is absolutely mind-blowing to me. I can't wrap my head around how this is actually happening in 2014, in real-life. Unreal.
You took the words right out of my mouth. People today look back on the Holocaust and wonder why people back then just stood by and let it happen, but we're doing the same thing today. Shin's and Harden's book shows how much alike North Korea today and '40s Germany are. In many ways, it's worse.
posted by Sleeper at 1:36 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]
You took the words right out of my mouth. People today look back on the Holocaust and wonder why people back then just stood by and let it happen, but we're doing the same thing today. Shin's and Harden's book shows how much alike North Korea today and '40s Germany are. In many ways, it's worse.
posted by Sleeper at 1:36 PM on December 1, 2014 [4 favorites]
Good god, this poor man. I can't imagine living with that crushing guilt.
posted by lumpenprole at 3:42 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by lumpenprole at 3:42 PM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]
This past week has not been good for me and my faith in humanity. Reading this article, after reading and fighting over Ferguson has left me with a sinking feeling of despair. I don't mean to be hyperbolic; It's just hard to digest the horrible things we humans do to each other. I'm privileged to not have to see these atrocities all the time. Which just makes the realization that gross violations of human right are happening all the time that much harder to swallow.
It also lies waste to the claims and justifications for war we so often hear. Going after Isis is a spectacular example. Not that the loss of life there isn't important, but rather that if we really cared about helping people at the hands of torturers and murderers, our first targets would be different.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 3:56 PM on December 1, 2014
It also lies waste to the claims and justifications for war we so often hear. Going after Isis is a spectacular example. Not that the loss of life there isn't important, but rather that if we really cared about helping people at the hands of torturers and murderers, our first targets would be different.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 3:56 PM on December 1, 2014
An excerpt from Escape From Camp 14: Born in the Gulag: Why a North Korean Boy Sent His Own Mother to Her Death
posted by hoodrich at 8:34 PM on December 1, 2014
posted by hoodrich at 8:34 PM on December 1, 2014
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posted by stbalbach at 10:20 AM on December 1, 2014