I interviewed Adrian Hong, executive director of Liberty in North Korea for my last pre-election piece at The Korea Times. One of LiNK’s missions is to get North Korean human rights on the front burner when the US, South Korea and other nations deal with Pyongyang.
As you might expect, he is not happy with the candidates:
One thing that came through clearly was his frustration at what he sees as a lack of concern from the candidates about the ongoing human rights crisis in North Korea and among Korean refugees in China.
“There is no talk of North Korea’s concentration camps, the restrictions on freedoms of speech, religion, assembly, movement or dissent, or public executions. No candidate has made strong statements relating to China’s repatriation of North Korean refugees in huge numbers; including some that had been resettled in South Korea and given South Korean passports,” Hong said.
As a non-partisan organization, LiNK can’t take a candidate in the election and even if they could I suspect they would take a pass.
However, the North Koreans whom Hong has meet are have not been so circumspect:
North Koreans who have relocated to South Korea are taking a clear stand on which presidential candidates they support.
“The North Korean defectors I have met overwhelmingly favor a conservative candidate,” he said.
“The North Korean people have been the greatest victims of the past two administrations in South Korea.”
“Unconditional humanitarian aid, massive cash transfers and a generally imbalanced relationship between the ROK and DPRK without reciprocity have emboldened the North Korean government’s human rights abusers and strengthened the government’s usage of concentration camps, public executions, and the usage of food as a weapon.”
BTW, I realize that I still have a lot to learn about writing for a newspaper, but I still can’t bring myself to write as many one-sentence paragraphs as my editors seem to like. Of course, it doesn’t really matter because they will KT-format my 3-4 sentence paragraphs anyhow.
21 Comments
This article makes an interesting point about the election and perhaps by extension about the Korean character. From a naïve western perspective, one might think North Korean human rights would be in someone’s campaign platform, but indeed they are not.
At the risk of being unduly cynical, I suspect the reason why we don’t hear about the issue is because none of the candidates can see any advantage in bringing up the issue up. For example, some or all of the so-called conservative candidates may have sympathies for the issue, but in fact there is no significant political leverage in them raising the issue due to general S Korean apathy.
In some ways, one may argue the two Koreas have grown that separate from each other. Yes, there are the emotional calls for a unified Korea with the waving of the blue flags. And while the patriotism may be heartfelt, there is apparently shallow interest, at best, by most South Koreans about the welfare of the average North Korean. Perhaps the South has grown too prosperous, materialistic and individualistic to really care.
So it hardly comes as a surprise that often it is the foreigners in South Korea who seem to care the most about human rights north of the DMZ – and not because of a political agenda, but almost always because of humanitarian concerns. Of course, try to explain that to one of the blue flag wavers and one risks being derided as a Yankee imperialist hiding behind the cloak of humanism.
TomCoyner-”I suspect the reason why we don’t hear about the issue is because none of the candidates can see any advantage in bringing up the issue up. For example, some or all of the so-called conservative candidates may have sympathies for the issue, but in fact there is no significant political leverage in them raising the issue due to general S Korean apathy.”
Absolutely spot on!
The general public has just given up on caring about the problems of NK citizens/refugees because they feel it would take too many resources to do so, wouldn’t help anyway, and might anger Li’l Kim too much.
They’d much rather just write it off and go on pretending everything is okay.
I often wonder if these people who lable human rights activists as “anti-unification” are just upset that they have been reminded of this very serious problem and that they have been doing nothing about- 2 things they desperately wish to forget!
Andy, your paragraphs are fine. It is the bad editing wherein sentences begin with conjunctions, etc., that is not good form.
Actually, I saw a small demo/exhibition on NK Human rights at Seoul Station today, which seemed to be part of the Lee InJe campaign. He’s not one of the big ones though…
Starting a sentence with a conjunction is just fine. But you don’t want to do it for every sentence. And you’ll want to change them up from time to time. Or risk being repetitive.
Brendon, to use conjunctions as you suggest is to make no distinction between written and spoken English. I know you are aware of the difference too.
I grew up on E.B. White and the Chicago Manual of Style. Nowadays I think most editors have no idea of grammar or style, rather they seem influenced by terse business presentation slides.
How would North Koreans vote in a future free election? Postcommunist Russia has shown us that a liberated people do not necessarily repudiate or effectively counter the anti-democratic power elites (perhaps Lankov could step in with more gravitas on that topic). Will post-DPRK develop something like Russia’s oligarchies, new rich, or ex-security officers vying for control? Or could the inmin truly realize collective power in a fair and democratic process? I am not going to hold my breath. But I do think there will be a markedly different outlook for those who stay north of the DMZ versus those escapees who are already interacting in the Southern milieu.
You might want to read your pieces over before you hand them in.
“However, the North Koreans whom Hong has meet are have not been so circumspect:”
“How would North Koreans vote in a future free election?”
Maybe for conservatives and perhaps for strongman types, but the days where the Yeongnam region (”TK,” “PK,” etc) dominates would be long gone, so (perhaps… and thankfully…) they would be a different kind of conservative.
There was an interesting piece in the China Post last week that made an excellent observation about Roh’s Inter-Korean Summit and why it had no effect on the upcoming election. If I could paraphrase: Roh spent so much time in office cozying up to North Korea that voters have become inured to the whole issue. You can’t have it both ways. Either the Norks are a threat and your summit is an important accomplishment, or they’re just regular folks and what’s the big deal about a summit? He got the latter.
I am aware of the difference. But I’m a fan of the spoken word.
It’s always been acceptable to begin sentences with subordinating conjunctions like “because,” “while,” or “although,” provided that the subordinating clause was part of a complex sentence with a main clause. In school, our papers got flunked for starting sentences with coordinating conjunctions like “and,” “but,” and “so.” As Brendon notes, coordinating conjunctions are now acting like transitional adverbs “however,” “therefore,” and “moreover.”
Tom and Benicio-
I think you oversimplify by arguing that general SK disinterest in the well being of Northerners explains the lack of campaigning for NK human rights.
There is plenty of public support, especially on the S. Korean left, for providing humanitarian assistance to the North, and polls show most do not want aid tied to political objectives. Because of historical reasons (legacy of fighting against Japanese colonialism, primarily) nationalism tends to trump all else for the S. Korean left. And, they apparently view the human rights agenda as part of an interventionary American plan to weaken the North, and thus, weaken Korean sovereignty. And, that’s different from saying that they just ‘don’t care.’
As for the S. Korean right, well, I do wonder if they truly are committed to human rights principles. Remember many of those guys were not leaders of the pro-democracy movement. Many are friendly to the chaebol business lobby, and many may have served under Chun. For the S. Korean right, human rights is a useful tool to undermine the North - but I don’t think they’d be too upset to see a capitalist pro-FDI dictator rise in Pyongyang. With N Korea fairly weak at present, and seen as less of a threat, there’s less incentive for them to use human rights for NK bashing.
As for the defector’s conservative views - certainly they represent a good portion of the populace, but remember, anyone who would risk their lives to treck all the way to Thailand to escape, or pay a fortune, clearly must already have a strong hatred for the regime. So, it’s hard to generalize their view to the whole N Korean population.
So, when will S Koreans start caring about NK human rights? I’d say it will probably happen if the S Korean left can finally start to feel secure in their nation hood and level of sovereignty, and ‘outgrow’ the colonial legacy and the fixaton with nationalism. Someday that will probably happen - and the sooner the better.
Dokdo,
How many UN Resolutions about human rights in NK has the ROK under Roh ignored?
Also, everyone on the planet knows the humanitarian aid going over there isn’t reaching its intended recipients. How do you let a system continue like this? Do they think it’s going to fix itself? Even the bogus Kaesong jobs are nothing more than slave labor being used in a PR stunt.
“It’s hard to generalize their view to the whole NK population.”
Yes, it’s hard. And inconvenient because if people spoke out in NK they would be imprisoned along with three generations of their family. I’m guessing people would prefer not to starve or suffer from new strains of TB. Just a guess.
The article was correct; the Left doesn’t care.
I believe “workers’ paradise” are the words Roh just used to describe the DPRK.
That doesn’t sound like he’s terribly concerned about human rights abuses over there.
dokdoforever: “when will S Koreans start caring about NK human rights? I’d say it will probably happen if the S Korean left can finally start to feel secure in their nation hood and level of sovereignty, and ‘outgrow’ the colonial legacy and the fixaton with nationalism.”
So that would be never!
Loved how you tied in the evil American designs on undermining Korea as the “real” reason that Koreans can’t support human rights in North Korea.
Absolute classic!
Knickerbocker/ Benicio - You really need to read more carefully, before pulling this BS personal attack crap. Did I say I advocate ignoring human rights? No. So, don’t go attacking me about it. Did I say I believe in “evil American designs.” No. I tried to explain how the S Korean left and right view the N Korea human rights issue. Personally, I’d love to see an end to the cult of Kim and improvement in human rights in N Korea. What’s your explanation for why the S Korean left is not interested in human rights in N Korea? - “They don’t care” Wow, that’s breath taking insight. You guys are f*king geniuses.
If you ever ask yourselves why “they don’t care,” you might notice how often countries use the human rights card to criticize their adversaries, and seldom accuse their allies of human rights abuse - that includes the US. Many in the Korean left still view the North through a perspective shaped by colonialism - as the true representative of Korean nationalism, fighting against foreign domination. That’s apparently their world view. And when forced to choose between national sovereignty and human rights - they side with the former.
You say you think they will forever ignore human rights violations in N Korea - I disagree. As more is revealed about the true nature of the N Korean regime, I think gradually opinions will change, just as the Italian Communist party abandoned support for the Soviet Union following revelation of Stalin’s abuses.
And, I think you will be saddly disappointed if you truly think that any on the S Korean right have even the slightest interest in genuinely promoting human rights. Sure they want to discredit Kim Jung Il, but those guys would be besides themselves if the whole North became one big Kaesung complex under the authoritarian control of a friendly ally.
Who do you think has been in the vanguard of the wave of democratization that swept through Asia and Latin America in the last twenty years? - the left, that’s who - primarily workers, labor unions, and progressive religious groups. The middle class and white collar workers helped turn the tide in Korea against the Chun dictatorship - but the captains of industry - FKI - were still in Chun’s corner. And Han Nara takes some very FKI-friendly positions - and opposes advancement of human rights within S Korea - and the role of the National Human Rights Commission.
Nationalism blinds some on the S Korean left to human rights abuses in N Korea. I’m betting with time they’ll come around.
Dokdo said: “As for the defector’s conservative views - certainly they represent a good portion of the populace, but remember, anyone who would risk their lives to treck all the way to Thailand to escape, or pay a fortune, clearly must already have a strong hatred for the regime. So, it’s hard to generalize their view to the whole N Korean population.”
What exactly does this mean? Are you saying that the escapees have a personal bias that makes them less objective towards atrocities?
Whole families incarcerated in concentration camps, summary and public executions, extreme political persecution, hunting down refugees in China…I think the true nature of the North Korean regime has already been revealed.
That sounds about right to me. But then, you go off the rails:
Ho, Hugo, and Che, frinstance?
If you’re suggesting that Korea’s “progressive” movement is or will become a force for liberalism or liberation, that’s demonstrable nonsense. There aren’t enough hours in the day to paste in all of the links showing how the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the Teacher’s Union, radical priests, and the so-called “Human Rights Commission” have collaborated with the North Korean regime or squelched/opposed any discussion of its atrocities, sometimes violently.
In fact, one prediction I’ll make is that we should expect a major North Korean influence scandal next year. The UNDP’s determination to go after LMB’s scandals will only give him more motive to pursue that as (1) payback, (2) distraction, and (3) a way to bulldoze (TM) his opposition.
Or maybe you can prove me wrong here. Can you show me when the KCTU ever took up the cause of its rank and file after their jobs were outsourced to Kaesong, where the North Korean workers’ wages are being stolen by Kim Jong Il? You’d think doing so would advance the interests of workers on either side of the DMZ. Obviously, some other conflicting interest has persuaded the KCTU otherwise.
South Koreans know what’s going on in Camp 22, or easily could if they cared to find out. They don’t care, and probably never will, because those atrocities are being done by Koreans to other Koreans. They probably won’t even care after the CNN crews get there. There are degrees of apathy, of course. The right is ambivalent about appeasement — even if it supports the atrocities — while the left is enthusiastic about it.
I challenge anyone to prove the existence of a significant “liberal” movement in Korea. In Korea, classical liberalism — that is, a belief in the expansion of personal freedom, even in defiance of existing conventions of society — is confined to two fringes: one meek faction of the DLP and one faction of the New Right movement that hasn’t been hijacked by MB cronies.
Joshua- A couple of responses, although doesn’t look like anyone is checking this thread. For the role of progressive civic groups in bringing about the ‘third wave’ of democratization, might I suggest Reuscheimer, Stevens and Stevens, “Capitalist Development and Democracy” - who make a pretty convincing case for the role of labor in the worldwide democratization movement.
http://www.amazon.com/Capitali.....amp;sr=1-1
And likewise for the democratization of S Korea, see Kim Sunhyuk’s “Politics of democratization in Korea: the role of civil society”
http://www.amazon.com/Politics.....amp;sr=1-2
And, you can’t deny that S Korean progressive forces have advanced the human rights agenda within the South - through the Human Rights Commission for instance. But, when it comes to N Korea, all takes a back seat to nationalism. Not only human rights, but also economic self interest, as you note with the Kaesung example, and I’d add to that the case of the US FTA, which is might be an economic boon to Korean industrial workers, but is opposed for mostly nationalistic reasons.
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