Shin Suk-ja | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1942 (age 81–82) |
| Known for | Prisoner of conscience in North Korea |
| Spouse | Oh Kil-nam |
| Children | Oh Hae-won (1976) Oh Kyu-won (1978) |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 신숙자 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Shin Suk-ja |
| McCune–Reischauer | Shin Sukja |
Shin Suk-ja (also spelled Shin Sook-ja; born 1942) is a South Korean woman who is currently imprisoned, along with her daughters, in North Korea after her husband Oh Kil-nam defected from North Korea to Denmark, having been given a political asylum. The case received international attention, including Amnesty International's naming her a prisoner of conscience and campaigning heavily for her release; this appeal remains ignored by North Korean authorities.
Shin was born in Tongyeong (Tōei), Gyeongsangnam-do (Keishōnan-dō), Chōsen in an area now part of South Korea. She attended elementary and middle school there. From 1958 she studied nursery at Masan Nursing School. [1] In 1970 she left South Korea for Germany, where she worked as a nurse in Tübingen. There she met Oh Kil-nam, a South Korean economics student, marrying him in 1972. [2] Later they moved near Kiel (Germany), where she gave birth to her daughters Oh Hae-won (on September 17, 1976) and Oh Kyu-won (on June 21, 1978). The family lived in Kronshagen near Kiel until 1985. [3]
Oh became involved in political activism against the South Korean government in the early 1980s. [4] He was influenced in this by a number of famous South Korean leftists in Germany, including Song Du-yul and Yun Isang; they later suggested that he could help his motherland by working as an economist in North Korea. [5] His activism also attracted the attention of North Korean government representatives, who further attempted to entice him to defect, claiming that his wife could receive free treatment for her hepatitis in Pyongyang. Over Shin's objections, the family moved to North Korea, arriving on 8 December 1985. Instead of receiving the promised medical treatment, he and his wife were reportedly held at a military camp and forced to study the Juche ideology of Kim Il Sung. They were then employed making propaganda broadcasts to South Korea. [6] While there, Oh claims to have met South Korean abductees who were also employed making propaganda broadcasts, including two of the flight attendants from the Korean Air Lines YS-11 hijacking. [7]
Later, the North Korean authorities sent Oh Kil-nam back to Germany to recruit other South Korean students for North Korea, telling him his family could not go along. [8] Oh said later that Shin hit him in the face when he said he would come back with some South Koreans, and that she then told him, "we have to pay the price for our wrong decision, but you shouldn't follow an order that victimizes others and just run away. Our daughters shouldn't become the daughters of hateful accomplices. If you escape this country, please rescue us, but if you fail, believe that we're dead." [1]
In 1986, Oh Kil-nam requested political asylum in Denmark on his way to Germany. The following year, Shin and her daughters (then 9 and 11 years old) were deported to Yodok camp, apparently because her husband did not return to North Korea. [2] Official North Korean intermediaries gave Oh letters from Shin and her daughters in 1988 and 1989, and an audio tape with their voices and six photos of the family from Yodok in 1991. [4] Some of the photos were published. [9] North Korean defectors and former Yodok prisoners An Hyuk and Kang Chol-hwan stated that Shin had attempted suicide several times, but was still alive at the time of their 1987 release. [10]
Korea Times reported in September 2011 that Shin and her daughters were alive and had been relocated to another prison camp. The report also stated that she denied having written a pledge of allegiance to Kim Jong Il. [11]
In 1993, Amnesty International started a campaign to free Shin and her daughters from Yodok camp. On the basis of all the available information, Amnesty International believes that Shin Sook Ja and her two daughters were detained because of Oh's request for political asylum abroad. Amnesty International designated Shin and her daughters as prisoners of conscience and called on the North Korean authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally. [4]
In April 2011, human rights activists in Shin's hometown including Kim Sung-uk started the "Daughter of Tongyeong Rescue Campaign", [12] which received some media attention in South Korea and worldwide [9] and as of September 2011, had collected more than 70,000 signatures to free Shin and her daughters. [13]
In July 2011, SAGE Korea led by South Korean activist Kim Sung-uk held a special event calling for the release of Shin, along with her daughters.
In November 2011, Amnesty International included Shin and other prisoners in Yodok camp in the "Write for Rights" letter-writing campaign. [14] A month later, the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's state news service, described the campaign for Shin Suk-ja as "a smear campaign", "prompted by black-hearted intentions". [15]
In a May 2012 response to an inquiry by the United Nations, a North Korean official replied that Shin had died of hepatitis. The ambassador also stated that Shin and Oh's daughters had renounced their father for "abandoning" his family. Oh replied in a press conference that he did not believe the report, citing cases in which abducted Japanese citizens had been falsely declared dead by North Korea. [16]
Tongyeong is a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. In 2010, it had an area of 238.81 km2 (92.21 sq mi) and a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup (town), 6 myeon (township) and 11 dong (neighborhood). Chungmu city and Tongyeong county were reunited in 1995, creating Tongyeong City as it is known today. It consists of Goseong Peninsula, Hansan Island, Mireuk Island, Yokji Island and other islets. It was formerly known as Chungmu, after the posthumous name of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. The name Tongyeong means "command post" and is itself associated with Admiral Yi, as it refers to his principal base that was located on nearby Hansan Island.
The human rights record of North Korea is widely considered to be among the worst in the world and has been globally condemned, with the United Nations and groups such as Human Rights Watch all critical of it. Amnesty International considers North Korea to have no contemporary parallel with respect to violations of liberty.
Kang Chol-hwan is a North Korean defector, author, and the founder and president of the North Korea Strategy Center.
Yodok concentration camp was a kwalliso in North Korea. The official name was Kwan-li-so No. 15. The camp was used to segregate those seen as enemies of the state, punish them for political misdemeanors, and put them to hard labour. It was closed down in 2014.
The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), formerly known as the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, is a Washington, D.C.-based non-governmental research organization that "seeks to raise awareness about conditions in North Korea and to publish research that focuses the world's attention on human rights abuses in that country."
Oh Kil-nam is a retired South Korean economist, who was offered a job as an economist in North Korea, and so defected to North Korea with his wife Shin Suk-ja and daughters, then left them behind when he obtained political asylum in Denmark, where he was working in the North Korean embassy.
Kaechon Internment Camp is a labor camp in North Korea for political prisoners and descendants of alleged criminals. The official name for the camp is Kwan-li-so No. 14. The camp is commonly known as Camp 14. It is not to be confused with the Kaechon concentration camp, which is located 20 km (12 mi) to the northwest. Nearest train station is the Oedong station of the Taegon Line.
Pukch'ang concentration camp is a labor camp in North Korea for political prisoners. It is sometimes called Tŭkchang concentration camp. The official name is Kwan-li-so No. 18.
Hwasong concentration camp is a labor camp in North Korea for political prisoners. The official name is Kwan-li-so No. 16.
Kwalliso (Korean: 관리소) or kwan-li-so is the term for political penal labor and rehabilitation colonies in North Korea. They constitute one of three forms of political imprisonment in the country, the other two being what Washington DC based NGO Committee for Human Rights in North Korea described as "short-term detention/forced-labor centers" and "long-term prison labor camps", for misdemeanor and felony offenses respectively.
The International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK) was formed on September 8, 2011. It comprises Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation for Human Rights and has support from over 40 organizations worldwide. North Korean human rights issues with which the ICNK deals include North Korea’s political prison camp system and the repatriation and punishment of North Korean refugees.
My Husband Got a Family is a 2012 South Korean television series starring Kim Nam-joo, Yoo Jun-sang, and Youn Yuh-jung. It aired on KBS2 from February 25 to September 9, 2012 on Saturdays and Sundays at 19:55 for 58 episodes.
If Tomorrow Comes is a South Korean television series starring Seo Woo, Go Doo-shim, and Ha Seok-jin. A drama about the love and conflict between a mother and daughter, it aired on SBS from October 29, 2011 to April 22, 2012 on Saturdays and Sundays at 20:40 for 51 episodes.
Only Love is a 2014 South Korean daily drama television series starring Seo Ha-joon, Im Se-mi, Lee Kyu-han, Nam Bo-ra, Yoon Jong-hoon, and Kim Ye-won. It aired on SBS on Mondays to Fridays at 19:20 for 123 episodes from June 2 to December 12, 2014.
Dear My Friends is a South Korean television series starring Go Hyun-jung, Kim Hye-ja, Na Moon-hee, Go Doo-shim, Park Won-sook, Youn Yuh-jung, Joo Hyun, Kim Young-ok and Shin Goo. It aired on cable network tvN on Fridays and Saturdays at 20:30 (KST) for 16 episodes from May 13 to July 2, 2016.
I'm Sorry, But I Love You is a 2016 South Korean television series starring Kim Min-seo, Park Sun-ho, Lee In, Na Ya and Kim Joo-ri. It airs on SBS on Mondays to Fridays at 8:30 AM KST starting December 19, 2016.
Unfinished is a 2018 South Korean drama thriller film directed by Noh Kyu-yeob. The film stars Lee Beom-soo, Yeon Woo-jin, Park Joo-mi and Lee Jong-hyuk. The film was released on November 14, 2018. It is based on the true story of Oh Kil-nam.
Daemyeong is a 1981 South Korean television series starring Kim Dong-hoon, Kim Heung-ki, Seo Young-jin, Won Mi-kyung, Kim Sung-won and Baek Il-sub. It aired on KBS1 from January 5, 1981 until December 28, 1981 every Mondays for 52 episodes.
