Chosun Journal
Encyclopedia
The Chosun Journal is an independent, non-profit website
that networks communities for human rights
in North Korea
. It was started in February 2001 and purports to be North Korea's first virtual holocaust museum
set in real-time.
In addition to serving as a portal to the latest news related to North Korean human rights
, the journal networks rescuers, refugee
s, defectors, government officials, intelligentsia, and the media to bring further momentum to the North Korean human rights movement. It has been a resource for academic journals and bestselling books like Natan Sharansky
’s The Case for Democracy
.
The Journal is premised on the belief that the more people know about the human rights atrocities happening in North Korea, the more pressure the world will bring to bear on the Stalinist regime, resulting in less leeway for Kim Jong Il to continue abusing the 21 million North Korean people with impunity. It has hosted survivors of North Korean concentration camps to share their testimonies at U.S. college campuses and churches, and was also reportedly behind the asylum of four North Korean refugees via an underground railroad
.
Other journal activities involve lobbying government bodies to pass bills that assist persecuted North Korean refugees hiding in China, and petitioning officials to grant leniency to those that are caught seeking asylum.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that networks communities for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. It was started in February 2001 and purports to be North Korea's first virtual holocaust museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
set in real-time.
In addition to serving as a portal to the latest news related to North Korean human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, the journal networks rescuers, refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
s, defectors, government officials, intelligentsia, and the media to bring further momentum to the North Korean human rights movement. It has been a resource for academic journals and bestselling books like Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky
Natan Sharansky was born in Stalino, Soviet Union on 20 January 1948 to a Jewish family. He graduated with a degree in applied mathematics from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. As a child, he was a chess prodigy. He performed in simultaneous and blindfold displays, usually against...
’s The Case for Democracy
The Case for Democracy
The Case for Democracy is a foreign policy manifesto written by one-time Soviet political prisoner and former Israeli Member of the Knesset, Natan Sharansky. Sharansky's friend Ron Dermer is the book's co-author...
.
The Journal is premised on the belief that the more people know about the human rights atrocities happening in North Korea, the more pressure the world will bring to bear on the Stalinist regime, resulting in less leeway for Kim Jong Il to continue abusing the 21 million North Korean people with impunity. It has hosted survivors of North Korean concentration camps to share their testimonies at U.S. college campuses and churches, and was also reportedly behind the asylum of four North Korean refugees via an underground railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
.
Other journal activities involve lobbying government bodies to pass bills that assist persecuted North Korean refugees hiding in China, and petitioning officials to grant leniency to those that are caught seeking asylum.
External links
- Chosun Journal website
- http://www.opinionjournal.com/favorite
- http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/cRosett/?id=110002093
- http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa79392.000/hfa79392_0.HTM
- http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLAsian/database/2001/Monitor2001-088.html*
- http://www.weeklystandard.com/Utilities/printer_preview.asp?idArticle=4463&R=EB38314D4
- http://www.worldmag.com/articles/6374
- http://nkfreedom.org/index.php?id=20