Shin Suk-ja
Encyclopedia
Shin Suk-ja is a South Korea
n political prisoner
held in a North Korea
n political prison camp. She is married to Oh Kil-nam
and has two daughters Oh Hye-won (Hangul:
오 혜원; also spelled Oh Hae-Won) and Oh Kyu-won (Hangul:
오 규원; also spelled Oh Gyu-Won). In 1985 the whole family was lured to North Korea by North Korean agents' false promises of medical treatment and jobs. After Oh Kil-nam did not return from a trip to Europe, Shin Suk-ja and her daughters were taken to Yodok political prison camp
in 1987 and imprisoned since then.
, Gyeongsangnam-do
, Korea
in an area now part of South Korea
. She attended elementary and middle school there. From 1958 she studied nursery at Masan
Nursing School. In 1970 she left South Korea for Germany
, where she worked as a nurse in Tuebingen. There she met Oh Kil-nam, a South Korean economics
student and they married in 1972. Later they moved near Kiel
(Germany), where she gave birth to her two daughters Oh Hae-won (on September 17, 1976) and Oh Kyu-won (on June 21, 1978). The family lived together and the children attended school and took violin classes in Kronshagen
near Kiel until 1985.
, North Korea. She did not want to go, but her husband ignored her objections and the family moved to North Korea.
Her fate is similar to that of tens of thousands of Koreans that lived in Japan and were lured to North Korea on false promises. The most prominent is the family of Kang Chol-hwan
.
ideology and the teachings of Kim Il-sung
. Then they were made to work in a radio station broadcasting North Korean propaganda
to South Korea. Later agents dispatched Oh Kil-nam back to Germany to recruit other South Korean students for North Korea, telling him his family could not go along. Oh remembers that his wife 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."
In 1986 Oh Kil-nam requested political asylum in Denmark
on his way to Germany. In 1987 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. 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 familiy from Yodok in 1991. Some of the photos were published. The North Korean defectors
and former prisoners of Yodok camp An Hyuk
and Kang Chol-hwan
confirmed that Shin attempted suicide several times, but was still alive at the time of their release.
There are rumors that Shin was temporary relocated to another prison camp in September 2011 and that despite her poor health she denied to write a pledge of allegiance to Kim Jong-il
.
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 considers Shin and her daughters to be prisoners of conscience and called on the North Korean authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally. But the North Korean authorities not even confirmed her whereabouts.
In April 2011 human rights activists in Shin's hometown started the "Daughter of Tongyeong Rescue Campaign", which received some media attention in South Korea and worldwide and collected already more than 70.000 signatures to free Shin and her daughters.
In November 2011 Amnesty International included Shin and other political prisoners in Yodok camp into the “Write for Rights” letter-writing campaign.
Yodok camp is documented in detail with testimonies and annotated satellite images.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
held in a 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...
n political prison camp. She is married to Oh Kil-nam
Oh Kil-nam
Oh Kil-nam is a retired South Korean economist, who defected to North Korea with his wife Shin Suk-jaand daughters, then left them behind to obtain political asylum in Europe.-Early life and education:...
and has two daughters Oh Hye-won (Hangul:
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
오 혜원; also spelled Oh Hae-Won) and Oh Kyu-won (Hangul:
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
오 규원; also spelled Oh Gyu-Won). In 1985 the whole family was lured to North Korea by North Korean agents' false promises of medical treatment and jobs. After Oh Kil-nam did not return from a trip to Europe, Shin Suk-ja and her daughters were taken to Yodok political prison camp
Yodok concentration camp
Yodok concentration camp is a political prison camp in North Korea. The official name is Kwan-li-so No. 15.-Location:...
in 1987 and imprisoned since then.
Early life in South Korea and Germany
Shin was born in TongyeongTongyeong
Tongyeong is a coastal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. In 2010, it had an area of 238.81 ㎢ and a population of 139,869 people. It is divided into 1 eup , 6 myeon and 11 dong . Chungmu city and Tongyeong county were reunited in 1995, creating Tongyeong City as we know it today...
, Gyeongsangnam-do
Gyeongsangnam-do
Gyeongsangnam-do is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Changwon. It contains the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. Located there is UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that houses the Tripitaka Koreana and attracts many...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
in an area now part of South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. She attended elementary and middle school there. From 1958 she studied nursery at Masan
Masan
Masan was a formerly a municipal city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The city was situated on Masan Bay , approximately 35 km west of Busan. It was known for its textile industry, and it was the site of Hite Brewery's production facilities.During the control of the Mongolians, the...
Nursing School. In 1970 she left South Korea for Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, where she worked as a nurse in Tuebingen. There she met Oh Kil-nam, a South Korean economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
student and they married in 1972. Later they moved near Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
(Germany), where she gave birth to her two daughters Oh Hae-won (on September 17, 1976) and Oh Kyu-won (on June 21, 1978). The family lived together and the children attended school and took violin classes in Kronshagen
Kronshagen
Kronshagen is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approx. 23 km southeast of Eckernförde, and 3 km west of Kiel....
near Kiel until 1985.
Lured to North Korea
In 1985 Shin was ill from hepatitis and injured in a traffic accident. North Korean agents promised free first-class treatment for her and a good government job for her husband in PyongyangPyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
, North Korea. She did not want to go, but her husband ignored her objections and the family moved to North Korea.
Her fate is similar to that of tens of thousands of Koreans that lived in Japan and were lured to North Korea on false promises. The most prominent is the family of Kang Chol-hwan
Kang Chol-Hwan
Kang Chol-Hwan is a defector from North Korea. As a child he was imprisoned in the Yodok concentration camp for 10 years; after his release he fled the country, first to China and eventually to South Korea...
.
Life in North Korea
In North Korea all promises remained unfulfilled. Instead the family was sent to an indoctrination camp and had to study JucheJuche
Juche or Chuch'e is a Korean word usually translated as "self-reliance." In the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , "Juche" refers specifically to a political thesis of Kim Il-sung, the Juche Idea, that identifies the Korean masses as the masters of the country's development...
ideology and the teachings of Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung was a Korean communist politician who led the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from its founding in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of Prime Minister from 1948 to 1972 and President from 1972 to his death...
. Then they were made to work in a radio station broadcasting North Korean propaganda
Propaganda in North Korea
The propaganda in North Korea is extensively based on the Juche ideology to promote the Workers' Party of Korea line. From its beginning to this day the propaganda is omnipresent.-Cult of personality:...
to South Korea. Later agents dispatched Oh Kil-nam back to Germany to recruit other South Korean students for North Korea, telling him his family could not go along. Oh remembers that his wife 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."
In 1986 Oh Kil-nam requested political asylum in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
on his way to Germany. In 1987 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. 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 familiy from Yodok in 1991. Some of the photos were published. The North Korean defectors
North Korean defectors
A number of individuals have defected from North Korea. Since the division of Korea after World War II and the end of the Korean War , many people have defected from North Korea, mainly for political, ideological, religious and economic reasons...
and former prisoners of Yodok camp An Hyuk
An Hyuk
An Hyuk is a North Korean defector. He formerly lived as an expatriate in China, and repatriated to North Korea in 1986; however, he was accused of spying, and imprisoned at the Yodok concentration camp. He escaped from North Korea together with Kang Chol-Hwan, whom he met while interned at Yodok...
and Kang Chol-hwan
Kang Chol-Hwan
Kang Chol-Hwan is a defector from North Korea. As a child he was imprisoned in the Yodok concentration camp for 10 years; after his release he fled the country, first to China and eventually to South Korea...
confirmed that Shin attempted suicide several times, but was still alive at the time of their release.
There are rumors that Shin was temporary relocated to another prison camp in September 2011 and that despite her poor health she denied to write a pledge of allegiance to Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
.
Campaign to Free Shin Suk-ja
In 1993 Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
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 considers Shin and her daughters to be prisoners of conscience and called on the North Korean authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally. But the North Korean authorities not even confirmed her whereabouts.
In April 2011 human rights activists in Shin's hometown started the "Daughter of Tongyeong Rescue Campaign", which received some media attention in South Korea and worldwide and collected already more than 70.000 signatures to free Shin and her daughters.
In November 2011 Amnesty International included Shin and other political prisoners in Yodok camp into the “Write for Rights” letter-writing campaign.
Background on Yodok political prison camp
Yodok Kwan-li-so No. 15 is one of six large political prison camps in North Korea. Men, women and children in the camp face forced hard labour, inadequate food, beatings, totally inadequate medical care and unhygienic living conditions. Many fall ill while in prison, and a large number die in custody or soon after release. Around 50,000 people are held in Yodok, and most are imprisoned without trial or following grossly unfair trials on the basis of "confessions" obtained through torture.Yodok camp is documented in detail with testimonies and annotated satellite images.
External links
- North Korea: Thousands held in Secret Camps - Amnesty International: Write for Rights letter-writing campaign for Shin Sook-ja and other political prisoners in Yodok camp
- “Rescue the Daughter of Tongyeong!” Petition with One Million Postcards - International Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea (ICNK): Online petition to free Shin and her daughters (Korean/English)
- Human or Animals? ( Where love does not exist!!) - Video from SAGE (NGO) on North Korean prison camp exhibition (03:55 – 04:20 features Shin Suk-ja and her daughters)
- North Korea: Summary of Amnesty International’s Concerns - Amnesty International report (section 2.2 is on Shin Sook Ja and her daughters)
- Committee for Human Rights in North Korea - Overview on North Korean Prison Camps with Testimonies and Satellite Photographs