North Korea Strategy Center

Last updated
North Korea Strategy Center
Founded2007
Founder Kang Chol-Hwan
FocusMedia dissemination, defector empowerment, education
Headquarters Seoul, South Korea
Area served
North Korea
Website nksc.us

North Korean Strategy Center (NKSC) is a defector-led NGO that was established in Seoul, South Korea in 2007 to raise awareness on North Korea's human rights conditions, and advocate of freedom and unification in Korea. Understanding the power of media and information to open minds and bring change, NKSC seeks to bring free press and media into North Korea by working with North and South Koreans, as well as the international community, raising awareness, with emphasis on the need for freedom of information and expression in North Korea. [1] Since its inception, NKSC has worked with over 150 North Korean defectors, and sent over 40,000 DVDs, 400 radio sets, and 4,000 USBs into North Korea. [2]

Contents

Organization

The North Korea Strategy Center was established in the summer of 2007 by North Korean defector, and former Yodok Prison Camp inmate, Kang Chol-Hwan. [2] It is a non-partisan think-tank that undertakes research and promotes action on North Korean issues based on principles of freedom of expression and freedom of information. It envisions a free, open and unified Korea that upholds the fundamental human rights of all its people in a healthy democracy.

NKSC has carried out extensive research on the effects and impacts of external media on the North Korean people, [3] and has carried out many seminars on information dissemination and control in North Korea. NKSC works closely with the defector community, providing various training programs and workshops. The organization also trains young North Korean defector journalists and facilitates connections between defectors and media outlets.

In 2015, NKSC US was established in New York as the first international office of the organization. [4]

Research and Seminars

NKSC specializes in research on North Korea issues carried out amongst the defector community collaborating with experts and international organizations. It operates with a firm commitment to a deeper understanding of the particular conditions in North Korea, especially those impacting human rights, that is necessary for dispelling misconceptions and stereotypes while informing sound decision-making towards North Korea.

Previous NKSC research projects and seminars include: [5]

'Illicit Drugs and Human Rights' (to be published in 2016) – a report investigating the human rights impacts of illicit drug production, distribution and use in North Korea.

‘Examining North Korean Government’s Response to the Inflow of External Information Based on Documents from The Korean People’s Internal Affairs’ Archived 2016-07-17 at the Wayback Machine – an analysis of North Korean criminal law and Kim Jong Un's orders and countermeasures against state-defined crime.

‘North Korea – Media and IT Infrastructure’ Archived 2016-07-02 at the Wayback Machine – a survey of the ICT landscape in North Korea, assessing North Koreans' use of cell phones, computers, external storage devices and other ICT devices to communicate with each other under the current information controls imposed by the government. 2014.

‘An Interpretation of Jang Song Taek’s Execution and Human Rights Abuses in North Korea from a Legalistic Human Rights Perspective’ Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine - a seminar by Professor Hong Song Pil, 2014.

‘History of Purges in North Korea and Prospects for the Kim Jong Un Regime’ Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine – a seminar following Jang Song Taek's purge and execution by Dr. Kwak In-Su, NKSC Seoul Board member, 2014.

‘The Conditions of North Korean Overseas Labor’ – an investigation into the use and abuse of North Korean laborers dispatched for overseas work assignments, working under exploitative conditions.

United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Period Review (UPR) Joint Submission by NKSC and Free the North Korean Gulag (FNKG).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberty in North Korea</span> United States-South Korean nonprofit

Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It has offices in Long Beach, California, United States, and Seoul, South Korea. The organization rescues refugees hiding in China and resettles them in South Korea or the United States, so that they can avoid being forcibly repatriated back to North Korea, where they can face harsh punishments. The refugees first travel from China to Southeast Asia through what the organization calls an "Underground Railroad", and then on to South Korea where they are recognized as refugees.

The human rights record of North Korea is often considered to be the worst in the world and has been globally condemned, with the United Nations and groups such as Human Rights Watch having condemned it. Amnesty International considers North Korea to have no contemporary parallel with respect to violations of liberty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kang Chol-hwan</span> North Korean defector (born 1968)

Kang Chol-hwan is a North Korean defector, author, and the founder and president of the North Korea Strategy Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital rights</span> Type of human and legal rights

Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is particularly related to the protection and realization of existing rights, such as the right to privacy and freedom of expression, in the context of digital technologies, especially the Internet. The laws of several countries recognize a right to Internet access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights in South Korea</span>

Human rights in South Korea are codified in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which compiles the legal rights of its citizens. These rights are protected by the Constitution and include amendments and national referendum. These rights have evolved significantly from the days of military dictatorship to the current state as a constitutional democracy with free and fair elections for the presidency and the members of the National Assembly.

People defect from North Korea for political, material, and personal reasons. Defectors flee to various countries, mainly South Korea. In South Korea, they are referred to by several terms, including "northern refugees" and "new settlers".

The mass media in North Korea is amongst the most strictly controlled in the world. The constitution nominally provides for freedom of speech and the press. However, the government routinely disregards these rights, and seeks to mold information at its source. A typical example of this was the death of Kim Jong Il, news of which was not divulged until two days after it occurred. Kim Jong Un, who replaced his father as the leader, has largely followed in the footsteps of both his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, and his father. However, new technologies are being made more freely available in the country. State-run media outlets are setting up websites, while mobile phone ownership in the country has escalated rapidly. "There is no country which monopolizes and controls successfully the internet and information as North Korea does," said Kang Shin-sam, an expert on North Korean technology and co-head of the International Solidarity for Freedom of Information in North Korea, a nonprofit based in South Korea. North Korea has about four million mobile-phone subscribers circa 2022—roughly one-sixth of the population and four times the number in 2012, according to an estimate by Kim Yon-ho, a senior researcher at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of North Korea</span> National government of North Korea

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North Korea ranks among some of the most extreme censorship in the world, with the government able to take strict control over communications. North Korea sits at one of the lowest places of Reporters Without Borders' 2024 Press Freedom Index, ranking 177 out of the 180 countries investigated.

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References

  1. Alastair Gale (5 December 2014). "Corpses and Soap Operas: Seoul Debates Tackling North Korean Human Rights". WSJ.
  2. 1 2 "NKSC at a glance". North Korea Strategy Center. Archived from the original on 2014-10-13. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
  3. "The Conditions of External Media Dissemination and its Influence in Raising Human Rights Awareness in North Korea" (PDF). NKSC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 August 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  4. "Organization History". NKSC US. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  5. "Research". NKSC US. Retrieved 27 June 2016.