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Being hungry all the time
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00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,600
is humanity's worst tragedy.
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00:01:55,640 --> 00:02:00,640
The first time I ate a mouse,
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00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,719
I thought,
I need to eat this to survive.
5
00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,439
We had nothing to eat and
we certainly couldn't buy medicine.
6
00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,360
So they laid me to one side,
waiting for me to die.
7
00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:18,719
I was hung upside down
8
00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,119
and beaten for 14 hours.
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00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,159
We never knew when we'd get beaten.
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00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,600
There was constant fear.
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00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,599
We never imagined anyone
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00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:41,480
could sell and buy people.
13
00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,959
I'm filled with hatred of North Korea
14
00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,880
that murdered my family.
15
00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,879
My family has believed in God
for generations.
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00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,840
They were all arrested.
17
00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,920
From my early years in the military,
18
00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,439
what I remember most
is robbing people
19
00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,039
in the villages when we got hungry.
20
00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,599
I saw my friends
fighting for their breath,
21
00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,080
and right in front of my eyes,
they'd die.
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00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:26,799
If the person who created
such a place isn't a criminal,
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00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:28,800
I don't know who is.
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00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:35,680
North Korea is the most isolated
country in the world.
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00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:41,760
Famine and food shortages
have killed millions since 1994.
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00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:58,040
Repression is total.
27
00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,480
The government operates a
system of concentration camps.
28
00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:08,040
Prison Camp Locations
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00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,080
Escape is punishable by death.
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00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,519
I escaped on February 1st, 2001.
31
00:04:21,520 --> 00:04:24,760
I went through China, Vietnam,
Cambodia and Thailand.
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00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,799
You had to bribe the police for
a pass to travel toward the border.
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00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:37,520
I sold everything I owned. I bought
the travel pass with the money.
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00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:41,480
I crossed the border at night.
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00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,479
If you didn't bribe,
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00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,519
you would get caught.
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00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,439
If you got caught,
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00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,640
you were shot to death.
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00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:09,679
These are the stories of
people who fled North Korea
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00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:11,920
between 1992 and 2006.
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00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,960
Such events
are still happening today.
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00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:26,319
MRS. KIM
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00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,439
She was a dancer in North Korea.
44
00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,520
Her best friend became
Kim Jong-Il's lover.
45
00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:40,560
The friendship cost her everything.
46
00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:50,439
You could say I was sent to prison
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00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:53,319
for knowing the private lives
of powerful men.
48
00:05:53,320 --> 00:05:57,719
One guy was imprisoned
49
00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,559
for saying
Kim Il-Sung had a lump in his neck.
50
00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:05,560
One had spread a newspaper with
Kim Il-Sung's picture on the floor.
51
00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:12,960
One was in for listening
to South Korean radio.
52
00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:19,959
We were all deported,
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00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:24,079
my parents and my four kids,
54
00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:28,720
2 years old, 4 years old,
7 years old, and 9 years old.
55
00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:36,719
I was released from Yodok prison camp
after 8 and 1/2 years.
56
00:06:36,720 --> 00:06:39,080
One of my sons had died,
57
00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:45,799
and I gave up my daughter
for adoption after leaving the camp.
58
00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:50,080
Otherwise, she would have been
stigmatized and unable to marry.
59
00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,159
I don't know what happened
to my husband.
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00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,320
For the last 35 years,
I've wondered if he's still alive.
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00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,040
I don't even know what his crime was.
62
00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:13,119
One of my sons tried to escape in '89
63
00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:18,120
but was caught
at the border and shot.
64
00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:28,159
I had such mental trauma.
65
00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:31,079
My mother and father
died of starvation
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00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:33,479
in Yodok prison camp.
67
00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,359
My first son drowned in a river,
68
00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:41,120
on the way back from camp school.
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00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:48,480
I'm so filled with hatred and anger.
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00:07:49,360 --> 00:07:51,999
My last son was captured twice
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00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,159
and tortured so much
his lungs filled with blood.
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00:07:57,160 --> 00:08:01,759
He was released
because he was nothing but a shell.
73
00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:06,199
He's still hospitalized,
handicap level-2.
74
00:08:06,200 --> 00:08:08,879
He can't breathe.
75
00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:11,999
How can anyone praise Kim Jong-il?
76
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,759
I'm filled with hatred
for North Korea.
77
00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:19,279
They murdered my family.
78
00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:23,519
I can't live without tears.
79
00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:26,719
My heart aches.
He left me alone in the world.
80
00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,640
Cursed Kim Jong-il.
81
00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:52,440
The Kim dynasty has ruled
North Korea for 60 years.
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00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:34,719
The Great Leader Kim Il Sung
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00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:36,760
President for Life
84
00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:44,920
They had us all worship him as a god.
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00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:57,079
Christians say grace
before their meals.
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00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:01,639
We said grace to Kim Il Sung.
87
00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:06,479
He was like a supreme being
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00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:10,520
so we thought he didn't even pee.
89
00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:14,520
He was our father's father
and our mother's father.
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00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:17,600
The most revered one.
91
00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:24,439
On April 15th, 1912,
Kim Il-Sung was born.
92
00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:29,240
The Almighty Sun hath risen.
93
00:10:31,400 --> 00:10:36,400
We were so lucky to worship
the 21st Century's Sun.
94
00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:44,319
In one generation, he defeated
two great imperial powers.
95
00:10:44,320 --> 00:10:48,759
In our 5000 year history,
he was the first to do that.
96
00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:51,519
He's our nation's hero.
97
00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:53,880
That's what we were taught.
98
00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:58,359
He can travel miles
while sitting down.
99
00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:00,679
Kim Il-Sung has superhuman powers.
100
00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:03,679
He'd appear simultaneously
in the east and the west.
101
00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:05,959
Kim Il-Sung can fly north,
102
00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:10,039
south, east and west.
103
00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:13,079
He appeared like a star
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00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:16,599
and we worship him like the Sun.
105
00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:20,800
So April 15th
became the Day of the Sun.
106
00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:25,999
In 1994, Kim Il Sung died.
107
00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,919
His son Kim Jong Il took power.
108
00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,919
I thought the world was ending.
109
00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,719
What would we do?
110
00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:38,599
Without him, nothing could be right.
111
00:11:38,600 --> 00:11:41,439
I absolutely thought he was divine.
112
00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:44,359
Just replace Kim Il-Sung with God.
113
00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:48,920
That's our religion.
114
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,720
We were totally brainwashed.
115
00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:01,040
If I were still there,
I would still worship him.
116
00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:05,240
I'd also worship his son,
Kim Jong-il.
117
00:12:06,400 --> 00:12:08,039
The Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il
118
00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,199
The General
119
00:12:10,200 --> 00:12:14,359
I thought of the Great Leader
as a father,
120
00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,080
so how could he let his people
live like this?
121
00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:26,239
I jumped off the train.
122
00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:31,240
I had boarded the train to Hae-San.
It was winter.
123
00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:37,760
The train was going uphill,
so it was slow.
124
00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:41,959
There was a lot of snow
on the ground,
125
00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:43,959
so we didn't get hurt.
126
00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,639
I didn't know where we were,
but everyone was jumping off,
127
00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,360
so I jumped with the others.
128
00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:01,599
My childhood was happy.
129
00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:05,199
I had five or six aquariums
with all kinds of fish.
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00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,599
We kids all competed to see
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00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:13,479
who had the best fish.
132
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,999
One fish had bulging eyes.
133
00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,640
That was the most prized,
134
00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,240
and I looked all over for it.
135
00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:28,079
KANG CHOL-HWAN
136
00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,960
His grandfather was arrested
for an unnamed crime.
137
00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,480
North Korean practice
is to purge three generations.
138
00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,679
Kang, his grandmother,
father, uncle,
139
00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,920
and little sister
were taken to Yodok prison camp.
140
00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,879
The soldiers' tone was so harsh.
141
00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,319
I was getting frightened.
142
00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:52,719
Kang screamed so much,
143
00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:54,920
the soldiers let him take one
of his beloved aquariums.
144
00:13:56,360 --> 00:13:58,360
He was 9 years old.
145
00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,879
The iron gates opened.
146
00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:04,160
The soldiers were armed.
147
00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:09,919
I began to feel real fear.
148
00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:13,199
Everyone was so skinny.
149
00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,719
The children were so weak
and fragile.
150
00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:18,600
They were in rags.
151
00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,440
At first, I dried bugs for my fish.
152
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,399
That's how I fed them.
153
00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:45,439
But when I started forced labour,
154
00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:49,000
I didn't have time for them.
155
00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:58,600
I had no time to cry.
156
00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,040
Every day was so tiring.
157
00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:06,080
We worked so hard.
I was so cold.
158
00:15:06,520 --> 00:15:10,559
You don't care about your pet fish
159
00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:14,720
when you're dying.
160
00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,159
I was bitter.
161
00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,800
Everything I treasured was gone.
162
00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:39,319
The worst job was mining.
163
00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:42,199
In my ten years in the gulag,
164
00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:46,639
the best job I ever had
was taking care
165
00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:51,719
of the beehives
for the high officials.
166
00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,239
The only bad part
was that we were isolated.
167
00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,359
At night we were lonely,
but we found some books.
168
00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:03,199
There were smuggled books
circulating in the camp.
169
00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,079
"The Count of Monte Cristo".
170
00:16:06,080 --> 00:16:08,599
"Anna Karenina", "Resurrection".
171
00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:12,479
I think "The Count of Monte Cristo"
touched me the most.
172
00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,399
- He looks dead.
- He is dead.
173
00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:17,519
We'll get the undertakers.
174
00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:20,439
Reading "Monte Cristo"
gave me the idea
175
00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,720
to escape North Korea.
176
00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:40,120
If I ever got out,
I'd take revenge like him.
177
00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:53,479
Holding to his duty
to be loyal to the leader,
178
00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,039
Kim Jong-Il said,
179
00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,359
"Nobody in the world
has ever dedicated all his life
180
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,280
to the people's cause
for so many years
181
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,520
and undergone so many hardships
as our leader has done.
182
00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,679
Whenever I think of the leader
working restlessly
183
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:14,559
for the People's happiness,
I feel my eyes moisten.
184
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,760
I wrack my brains to take the load
from his mind and make him happy.
185
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:47,320
SHIN DONG-HYUK
186
00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:49,880
He was born
in Total Control Prison Camp 14.
187
00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:53,360
He never knew
why his parents were there.
188
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,919
They had fenced off a large area
189
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:04,079
with barbed wire
and built housing and factories.
190
00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:09,159
You don't live behind bars in cells.
191
00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:14,160
Within a confined area,
you'd do the work you were assigned.
192
00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:16,919
There were coal mines and farmlands,
193
00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,119
and jobs where you cut down trees.
194
00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:25,120
Or we were assigned
to sweat shops and other factories.
195
00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:29,520
Camp school was simple.
196
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:34,960
They taught us how to dig for coal
197
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:37,999
and how to transport it.
198
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,959
During Korean class,
199
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:43,799
we learned how to read and write.
200
00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:48,800
In math,
we only learned to add and subtract.
201
00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:50,399
After roll call,
202
00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,720
you'd recite the rules of the sector.
203
00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,400
RULES OF THE SECTOR
204
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,959
Any prisoner who does not do his best
to complete the assigned work,
205
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,200
will be presumed
to have an attitude...
206
00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:13,920
and will be executed
by firing squad immediately.
207
00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:19,959
Any prisoner who steals
or hides food will be executed
208
00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:23,040
by firing squad immediately.
209
00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:27,599
Any prisoner who disobeys...
210
00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:30,159
or does not obey diligently...
211
00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:34,480
will be executed
by firing squad immediately.
212
00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:40,319
Any prisoner who tries to run away,
213
00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,640
or fails to report someone
else's attempted escape...
214
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:48,880
will be executed immediately.
215
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,599
On November 29th, 1996,
216
00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:57,999
after my mother and brother died,
217
00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,280
only me and my father were left.
218
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,119
SHIN was forced to watch
219
00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:13,040
his mother and brother
publicly executed.
220
00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:22,279
Older people or intellectuals
221
00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:24,999
committed suicide.
222
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,040
But almost none of the kids did.
223
00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:45,039
We never knew when we'd get beaten.
224
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:47,120
There was constant fear.
225
00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:57,999
If you didn't work hard enough,
226
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,599
you got punished by the guards.
227
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:04,119
They cut your food ration.
228
00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:07,919
Sometimes they'd cut it in half.
229
00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,920
Sometimes they'd make you
completely starve.
230
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,160
North Korean Film
231
00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:35,840
North Korea's economy depends
partly on forced labor.
232
00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:46,160
Some products made in prison camps:
233
00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,880
army uniforms
234
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:54,200
bricks
235
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:03,080
leather shoes
236
00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,440
snake liquor.
237
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,760
Some forced-labor products
have been exported:
238
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,880
doilies to Poland
239
00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:24,720
paper flowers to France
240
00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:36,720
bras to Russia.
241
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,919
A guy from Pyongyang
came to the camp.
242
00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:55,839
Usually, we didn't talk to outsiders.
243
00:22:55,840 --> 00:22:58,559
He was afraid too.
But we worked together.
244
00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:03,560
We started trusting each other.
245
00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:08,039
He told me
what his life had been like.
246
00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:09,360
His life in Pyongyang.
247
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:16,999
The best stories were about eating.
248
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,839
After I heard his stories,
249
00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:24,759
the camp became totally unbearable.
250
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:26,760
I asked him to tell me the stories
over and over.
251
00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:35,839
I came up with the idea of escaping.
252
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:38,079
"Let's try to escape."
253
00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,440
So we planned it together.
254
00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:43,679
On January 2nd, 2005,
255
00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:48,599
we said we were going
to collect firewood.
256
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:52,679
I knew we could get shot
or electrocuted,
257
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,559
but right then,
I was full of confidence.
258
00:23:56,560 --> 00:24:00,599
When January 2nd came,
we climbed the mountains.
259
00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:03,999
I saw the guards
and the barbed wire gates.
260
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,520
All of a sudden I was afraid.
261
00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,479
I was shaking, losing my nerve.
262
00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,919
And then my friend said,
263
00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:20,319
"I don't think we can do it.
You're scared and I'm scared."
264
00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:24,159
But I couldn't give up.
I had to escape.
265
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:28,559
We were about 20 meters
266
00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:30,760
from the gates.
267
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,359
It had been 15 minutes
since the guard passed.
268
00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:39,919
We had to run.
269
00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:44,199
I practically dragged him.
270
00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:46,839
I was one step ahead of him
271
00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,279
as we approached the gates.
272
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,119
He was following,
273
00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:58,279
and then I slipped in the snow,
274
00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:01,640
so he ran ahead of me.
275
00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,839
When I saw the wired gates,
276
00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:10,079
I figured he was squeezing
277
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:13,480
through the electric wires.
278
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:17,119
So I followed his lead
279
00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:20,479
and squeezed through too.
280
00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:23,359
When I got up and looked behind me,
281
00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:28,519
I realized
I was on the other side of the gates.
282
00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,919
Then I saw my friend was stuck
283
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,159
and didn't move.
284
00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:36,679
He was still stuck in the wires.
285
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:39,359
Right then,
286
00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:42,519
all I could think was I had to run.
287
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:44,839
Run down the mountain away
from the gates.
288
00:25:44,840 --> 00:25:48,399
I was all the way down
when I realized
289
00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,159
maybe he was electrocuted.
290
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,520
If I hadn't fallen,
291
00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:58,839
I would have been the first
to squeeze through the electric wire.
292
00:25:58,840 --> 00:26:01,440
I would have been
the one electrocuted.
293
00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:10,599
SHIN DONG-HYUK
294
00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:12,439
Born in Total Control Camp 14
295
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:15,520
Escaped in 2005 at age 24
296
00:26:18,240 --> 00:26:23,399
The whole nation
is run by Kim Jong-il
297
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:25,119
and his gang.
298
00:26:25,120 --> 00:26:30,080
The camps,
the starvation, everything.
299
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,679
And the North Korean people
300
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:40,279
continue to suffer.
301
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:45,439
There will be more and more victims
302
00:26:45,440 --> 00:26:48,760
until you change the system.
303
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,199
KANG CHOL-HWAN
304
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:02,919
10 years in Yodok,
released in 1987
305
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,079
fled North Korea in 1992
306
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,520
first to expose
the existence of camps
307
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,079
1910
308
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,920
Japan colonized Korea
309
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,199
1913
310
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,079
Kim Il Sung is born
to a Christian Family.
311
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,120
His grandfather
is a Protestant minister.
312
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:36,799
1919-1940
313
00:27:36,800 --> 00:27:41,199
Korean freedom fighters,
aided by the Church,
314
00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:43,680
resist the Japanese.
315
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:48,719
1932
316
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:52,520
Kim Il Sung joins the resistance
and adopts communism.
317
00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,319
1935
318
00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:04,519
The Japanese put a price
on Kim Il Sung's head.
319
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:09,679
1941
He flees to the Soviet Union.
320
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,439
1945
321
00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:17,439
The Allies defeat Japan
in World War II.
322
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:20,080
The Soviets and Allies
divide Korea along the 38th parallel.
323
00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,719
1948
324
00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:30,759
Kim Il Sung founds the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea
325
00:28:30,760 --> 00:28:32,640
as a Marxist state.
326
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:38,519
1950
327
00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:40,759
North Korea attacks South Korea.
328
00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:42,559
1950-1953
329
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:46,720
The Korean War brings
widespread destruction and death.
330
00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,960
Kim Il Sung blames Americans.
331
00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:57,519
1953
332
00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,200
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
established along the 38th parallel.
333
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:06,760
No peace treaty is signed.
334
00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:16,359
1950's-1970's
335
00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,839
Kim Il Sung and the Korean
Workers Party rebuild
336
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:21,079
North Korea and establish
a Worker's Paradise.
337
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:25,520
Free from Oppression and Hunger.
338
00:29:40,680 --> 00:29:44,760
In North Korea, an artist
is an instrument of the Party.
339
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:50,560
He's a mouthpiece for the system.
340
00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:55,200
KIM CHEOL-WOONG
CONCERT PIANIST
341
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:06,760
If your head's not Red,
you can't proclaim the Red.
342
00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,719
The children of the upper class,
those loyal to Kim Jong-il
343
00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,360
are the only ones admitted
to the music conservatory.
344
00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:21,679
Your family background is everything.
345
00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,200
As a kid, I didn't know
my class background was bad.
346
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:29,199
If there's a political prisoner
in your family
347
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:32,679
and you make even a tiny mistake,
348
00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:37,680
it gets blown way out of proportion.
349
00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:42,920
LEE SHIN
SINGER
350
00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:50,119
In North Korea,
no matter how talented you are,
351
00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:52,920
if your class background is bad,
you're stuck.
352
00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:57,159
They said my voice
353
00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:02,159
was like a South Korean pop singer's.
354
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:07,319
My voice was unacceptable
355
00:31:07,320 --> 00:31:10,439
in North Korea,
356
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:15,400
because it sounded capitalist.
357
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:44,439
We thought ours was the only kind
of music in the world.
358
00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,199
When I was sent to Russia to study,
359
00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:50,799
I was stunned to find out
360
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:55,800
how restricted we were.
361
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,759
Everything I thought
I knew was a lie.
362
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,799
It was a rude awakening.
363
00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:12,879
Our country knowingly taught us lies.
364
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:16,079
The turning point was when I played
365
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:19,320
a piece by Richard Clayderman.
366
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,039
Someone heard and reported me.
367
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:30,799
Even if you just listened to music
368
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,839
from capitalist countries,
369
00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,080
you'd get arrested.
370
00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:44,079
My whole life
371
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:46,519
was dedicated to the piano,
372
00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,559
but I couldn't play what I wanted.
373
00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,880
I decided to escape.
374
00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:07,719
I was starving
375
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:12,199
and tightening my belt
around my belly.
376
00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:15,799
We pretended we were pretty
and our stomachs were full.
377
00:33:15,800 --> 00:33:20,479
We sang, "How shall we spread
this bountiful rice?"
378
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:23,319
We sang a lot of songs like that,
with a smile.
379
00:33:23,320 --> 00:33:28,320
I don't understand even now.
380
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:36,080
Early on, the government
dictated agricultural policies.
381
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:45,040
Food shortages began
in the 1980's.
382
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:55,279
1989: demise of the Soviet Union
383
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:59,279
1994: famine declared
384
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:03,240
1995: devastating floods
385
00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:24,360
By the mid-90's,
starvation was widespread.
386
00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:34,840
Nevertheless, the Party
ordered farmers to grow opium.
387
00:34:42,160 --> 00:34:47,199
Because of The Great Famine in 1994,
388
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:48,999
we were having a very hard time.
389
00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:52,839
We'd go to the mountains
390
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,079
to pick roots.
391
00:34:56,080 --> 00:35:01,080
We ate grass from the fields
and bark from the trees.
392
00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:04,639
BYEON OK-SUN
393
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:06,559
She lived with her parents,
3 brothers,
394
00:35:06,560 --> 00:35:08,239
and sister in a northern town.
395
00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:12,000
The only source of food was
the state-run distribution system.
396
00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,360
By the time she was 17,
that system had collapsed.
397
00:35:16,200 --> 00:35:20,479
One day, I was with
my father in the mountains.
398
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,879
I got soaked with rain
399
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:26,120
while we were foraging.
400
00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:30,319
After we finished, I went home.
401
00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:33,359
My body started
to burn and I fainted.
402
00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,239
We had nothing to eat
403
00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:39,039
and we certainly
couldn't buy medicine.
404
00:35:39,040 --> 00:35:43,080
So they laid me to one side,
waiting for me to die.
405
00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:47,079
I had typhoid fever
406
00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:49,720
and was in a coma.
407
00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:03,839
When the food rations stopped
in the late 1980's,
408
00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,840
people's lives completely changed.
409
00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:11,199
People started selling
household items,
410
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:14,079
like TVs, electronics, and furniture.
411
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:16,599
People would sell
anything to buy food.
412
00:36:16,600 --> 00:36:19,719
When everything was gone,
413
00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:23,239
they'd sell their homes.
414
00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:26,719
They didn't think of stealing.
415
00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:28,439
There was nothing to steal.
416
00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:33,440
They were the first to die.
417
00:36:36,080 --> 00:36:40,639
They say man is selfish by nature.
Do you think so, too, Si Nae?
418
00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:44,160
No, that's a lie. Babies are not.
419
00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,159
My brother-in-law's
written from abroad
420
00:36:49,160 --> 00:36:51,760
about the sad state there.
421
00:36:52,240 --> 00:36:56,039
How ugly things are turning there!
422
00:36:56,040 --> 00:37:00,720
What would the revolutionary martyrs
say if they were alive?
423
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:06,920
NORTH KOREAN FILM
GIRLS IN MY HOMETOWN
424
00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:12,839
My home is in Anbyon,
425
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:16,479
Kangwon Province.
426
00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:20,119
A nice place to live in
427
00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:23,679
with its abundant fruit.
428
00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:27,159
Rich crops sway in breeze.
429
00:37:27,160 --> 00:37:30,999
Persimmon trees bear
plentiful fruits in every house.
430
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:34,439
Come to see our village.
431
00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:37,520
You can meet pretty girls here.
432
00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:43,640
1991: "Let's Eat Two Meals a Day"
campaign
433
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:49,919
1995: North Korea
asks for international aid
434
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:54,279
$2.5 billion sent -
North Korea demands control
435
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:58,519
30% to 70% diverted to the elite
436
00:37:58,520 --> 00:38:02,319
Humanitarian organizations
withdraw in frustration
437
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:07,320
Estimated number of dead:
600,000 to 3,500,000
438
00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:10,839
Taking care of corpses
was the biggest problem
439
00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:13,799
towards the end of '95.
440
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:17,639
This problem was even reported
to Kim Jong-il,
441
00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:22,399
so he stationed military units
442
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,039
in each town.
443
00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:27,199
They weren't armed.
444
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:29,879
The soldiers loaded corpses
into their military trucks
445
00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:31,559
around the clock.
446
00:38:31,560 --> 00:38:33,399
The bodies were rotting.
447
00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:37,439
We didn't escape
because we wanted to.
448
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:39,840
We had to.
449
00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,320
I crossed over
to get medical treatment.
450
00:38:46,080 --> 00:38:49,640
My brother carried me on his back.
451
00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:56,880
I'd been in China for a month
when I came out of the coma.
452
00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:03,639
I woke up in an empty room,
alone except for an old woman.
453
00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:06,639
I was scared.
454
00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:09,720
She said, "You're in China."
455
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,559
"How did I get here?"
456
00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,759
She told me my brothers
carried me on their backs.
457
00:39:16,760 --> 00:39:20,439
My brothers had gone to find work
458
00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:24,559
to pay for the treatment.
459
00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:29,200
They left me with her.
460
00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:38,159
Most Chinese were afraid. Very few
were willing to hide defectors.
461
00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:42,919
The woman said she'd protect
the weakest of us four,
462
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:45,279
so I stayed.
463
00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:50,439
My older sister and 2 brothers
scattered to make their own ways.
464
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:52,679
It was my oldest brother's duty
465
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,039
to take care
of his parents and siblings.
466
00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:59,399
His sense of duty toward our parents
was very strong.
467
00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:04,159
No matter where he was,
468
00:40:04,160 --> 00:40:06,639
in North Korea or China,
469
00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:09,160
he felt that responsibility.
470
00:40:11,680 --> 00:40:13,839
He took me on his back to save me.
471
00:40:13,840 --> 00:40:16,039
After he saved me in China,
472
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:20,319
with our parents back in North Korea,
he felt very tortured.
473
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:24,839
He'd get food
and take it back to our parents.
474
00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:28,039
He was constantly
sneaking back and forth.
475
00:40:28,040 --> 00:40:30,999
Then somehow,
476
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:36,000
the National Intelligence Service,
477
00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:41,599
caught him making trips to China.
478
00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:45,679
When he realized they were on to him,
479
00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:48,639
he decided to give himself up.
480
00:40:48,640 --> 00:40:51,439
If you give yourself up,
481
00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:54,959
you expect to receive
a lighter sentence.
482
00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:58,719
That's what he thought.
483
00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:02,279
Instead, he was taken
484
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:04,520
and publicly executed.
485
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:25,919
The fact that they killed a person
like him, it's hard to deal with.
486
00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:30,160
Even now. He's my brother...
487
00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:35,319
I feel so guilty.
My big brother's death was...
488
00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:38,840
I feel he died because of me.
489
00:41:39,560 --> 00:41:44,079
I live with a guilty conscience
490
00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:46,360
all the time.
491
00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:56,919
They kill people without mercy.
492
00:41:56,920 --> 00:42:01,879
They don't even feel any guilt.
493
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:06,319
I know it's the country of my birth,
494
00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:09,440
but I really hate it.
495
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:14,320
I don't want
to live there ever again.
496
00:42:14,840 --> 00:42:16,880
Those feelings are strong.
497
00:42:25,720 --> 00:42:29,079
The kimjongilia,
or flower of Kim Jong Il,
498
00:42:29,080 --> 00:42:31,880
was created for the Dear Leader's
46th birthday.
499
00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:37,800
They say it represents love,
peace, wisdom, and justice.
500
00:42:46,680 --> 00:42:48,720
LOVE PEACE
WISDOM JUSTICE
501
00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:46,359
The military suffered too.
502
00:43:46,360 --> 00:43:48,679
The state only supplied us
with rice and salt.
503
00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:52,119
We had to get
everything else ourselves.
504
00:43:52,120 --> 00:43:55,679
We started to grow beans
on our basketball courts
505
00:43:55,680 --> 00:44:00,239
and soccer fields.
506
00:44:00,240 --> 00:44:05,159
The soldiers learned to
survive without eating fat.
507
00:44:05,160 --> 00:44:08,519
On Kim Jong-il's birthday,
508
00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:12,319
they'd give the ghastly-looking
skinny soldiers a piece of pork.
509
00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:14,639
They'd eat it and get diarrhea.
510
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:17,079
They said soldiers died
of uncontrollable diarrhoea.
511
00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:19,240
That's nonsense. It was malnutrition.
512
00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:42,519
When I was serving in the military,
513
00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:45,519
the malnourished soldiers
514
00:44:45,520 --> 00:44:50,320
were admitted to the infirmaries.
515
00:44:55,480 --> 00:44:57,559
The infirmaries
516
00:44:57,560 --> 00:45:01,120
held 200 to 300 patients.
517
00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:05,799
They'd shave everyone's heads
with razors.
518
00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:09,320
You couldn't distinguish men
from women.
519
00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:20,239
Women's periods stopped
due to malnutrition.
520
00:45:20,240 --> 00:45:23,760
These days, many officers desert.
521
00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:40,040
Even if you want to work,
there are always supplies missing.
522
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:47,119
Making it impossible to do the job.
523
00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:51,959
But commanders go on
524
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:54,439
issuing orders every day.
525
00:45:54,440 --> 00:45:57,599
You have to steal
the supplies you need.
526
00:45:57,600 --> 00:46:00,639
This is the current situation
in North Korea.
527
00:46:00,640 --> 00:46:04,959
If you care at all, it is impossible
528
00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:06,999
not to express your frustration.
529
00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:09,480
Consequently, many are arrested.
530
00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:12,639
PARK MYUNG-HO
531
00:46:12,640 --> 00:46:14,799
He was a captain
in the Korean People's Army.
532
00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:15,960
He served for 20 years.
533
00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:20,120
His father was a soldier too.
534
00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:24,159
Ever since I became an officer,
535
00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:27,799
I have felt this so-called "country"
536
00:46:27,800 --> 00:46:32,319
has been made so tragic and horrific.
537
00:46:32,320 --> 00:46:35,279
I held so much resentment
toward the government.
538
00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:39,399
Really.
For about 10 years, I brooded.
539
00:46:39,400 --> 00:46:43,520
That's what drove me to escape.
540
00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:46,239
If we went through China,
541
00:46:46,240 --> 00:46:49,399
the whole family
would have had to separate,
542
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:51,959
so we decided to cross
543
00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:54,840
the 38th parallel by boat.
544
00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:05,999
On the evening of May 23rd, 2006,
I saw a thick fog rolling in.
545
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:09,880
I could tell it would last
two or three days.
546
00:47:15,200 --> 00:47:18,839
At around 10 that night,
547
00:47:18,840 --> 00:47:22,960
we sailed for the 38th parallel.
548
00:47:29,760 --> 00:47:33,759
We evaded Navy ships twice.
549
00:47:33,760 --> 00:47:37,800
Because our boat was small
and theirs were big,
550
00:47:38,680 --> 00:47:41,359
we could see them first
551
00:47:41,360 --> 00:47:44,240
and get away.
552
00:47:45,120 --> 00:47:47,639
Actually, the North Korean ships
had no fuel.
553
00:47:47,640 --> 00:47:52,040
They couldn't start their engines
and were under sail.
554
00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:56,320
I covered all the metal on our boat
555
00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:00,240
with blankets to block their radar.
556
00:48:01,640 --> 00:48:05,999
We landed in Incheon City,
Ong-jin province.
557
00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:07,919
When I saw all the trees
on the mountains,
558
00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:10,880
I knew we were in South Korea.
559
00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:18,559
PARK MYUNG-HO
560
00:48:18,560 --> 00:48:21,079
TOOK HIS FAMILY OVER 200 MILES
THROUGH DANGEROUS WATERS
561
00:48:21,080 --> 00:48:26,080
REACHED SOUTH KOREA IN 2006
562
00:49:51,040 --> 00:49:54,520
Tumen River border between
North Korea and China
563
00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:02,200
300,000 people have fled
North Korea in the last 10 years.
564
00:50:06,800 --> 00:50:09,880
Because the DMZ is impassable,
most go to China.
565
00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:16,040
There are approximately 2,000,000
ethnic Koreans living in China.
566
00:50:18,920 --> 00:50:20,759
I heard rumours
567
00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:24,319
that people escaped to China.
568
00:50:24,320 --> 00:50:27,039
I went with money
569
00:50:27,040 --> 00:50:30,760
I brought from home.
570
00:50:32,480 --> 00:50:35,920
I had about $2000 that I...
571
00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:40,479
I guess you'd have to say I stole it.
I stole it and took off.
572
00:50:40,480 --> 00:50:45,239
I used the money
to bribe the National Border Control.
573
00:50:45,240 --> 00:50:48,840
They guided me
across the river to China.
574
00:50:50,880 --> 00:50:53,679
I just recklessly went
to the first ethnic Korean village
575
00:50:53,680 --> 00:50:56,479
across the border.
576
00:50:56,480 --> 00:51:00,159
I proudly announced I was
a concert pianist from Pyongyang.
577
00:51:00,160 --> 00:51:02,559
They didn't care
about my piano playing,
578
00:51:02,560 --> 00:51:04,719
they wanted my physical strength.
579
00:51:04,720 --> 00:51:09,639
From that day on,
580
00:51:09,640 --> 00:51:14,240
I became their servant.
581
00:51:16,600 --> 00:51:20,039
I went to find my older sister.
582
00:51:20,040 --> 00:51:22,879
She had escaped to China,
so it was too dangerous for me
583
00:51:22,880 --> 00:51:26,839
to continue appearing on stage.
584
00:51:26,840 --> 00:51:29,319
We found out
585
00:51:29,320 --> 00:51:33,480
she had been sold to traffickers.
586
00:51:34,040 --> 00:51:38,279
So we went to find her
but couldn't,
587
00:51:38,280 --> 00:51:43,439
and wound up stuck there.
588
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:48,559
We had a "guide"
589
00:51:48,560 --> 00:51:51,839
who claimed
he was looking for her.
590
00:51:51,840 --> 00:51:55,719
In fact, he was selling us
591
00:51:55,720 --> 00:51:57,879
to traffickers too.
592
00:51:57,880 --> 00:52:01,039
We didn't know
593
00:52:01,040 --> 00:52:05,040
we were being sold.
594
00:52:05,720 --> 00:52:09,079
They said the police were after
us and we had to flee.
595
00:52:09,080 --> 00:52:13,359
But it was a lie to trap us.
596
00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:16,520
They were going to sell us.
597
00:52:23,080 --> 00:52:27,879
In the taxi, I cried and pleaded,
598
00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:31,080
but no one saved us.
599
00:52:32,520 --> 00:52:36,440
In China, I gave up being human.
600
00:52:43,040 --> 00:52:47,559
Because we were North Koreans,
we were defenceless.
601
00:52:47,560 --> 00:52:52,359
All kinds of women
602
00:52:52,360 --> 00:52:56,159
from 16 to 40 years old
603
00:52:56,160 --> 00:52:59,120
were sold.
604
00:53:16,000 --> 00:53:19,439
We were beaten for no reason
605
00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:22,080
and couldn't defend ourselves.
606
00:53:30,320 --> 00:53:34,399
The men would get drunk
607
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:38,359
and violent.
608
00:53:38,360 --> 00:53:41,160
The girls
609
00:53:41,760 --> 00:53:46,639
would try to escape
610
00:53:46,640 --> 00:53:49,840
and get caught.
611
00:53:59,280 --> 00:54:02,639
I was desperate.
612
00:54:02,640 --> 00:54:05,919
I decided to risk crashing
613
00:54:05,920 --> 00:54:10,519
the South Korean Embassy in Beijing.
614
00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:13,879
I faced down the police.
615
00:54:13,880 --> 00:54:18,079
My mom, my sisters and I
616
00:54:18,080 --> 00:54:20,759
made it inside safely.
617
00:54:20,760 --> 00:54:23,560
I don't know
where I got the strength.
618
00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:27,399
LEE SHIN
619
00:54:27,400 --> 00:54:29,999
5 YEARS IN SEXUAL SLAVERY
620
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:33,280
REACHED SOUTH KOREA IN 2003
621
00:54:35,520 --> 00:54:38,719
We were constantly
in danger in China.
622
00:54:38,720 --> 00:54:40,959
You can't walk around openly.
623
00:54:40,960 --> 00:54:45,919
If you're caught, you're sent back.
624
00:54:45,920 --> 00:54:49,119
I slept in a storage room
like this one.
625
00:54:49,120 --> 00:54:52,759
The police even patrolled there.
626
00:54:52,760 --> 00:54:55,279
They were uniformly brutal,
627
00:54:55,280 --> 00:54:58,199
demanding ID or family papers.
628
00:54:58,200 --> 00:55:02,519
Ethnic Koreans who protected us
629
00:55:02,520 --> 00:55:04,439
were fined
630
00:55:04,440 --> 00:55:09,479
if they were caught by the police.
631
00:55:09,480 --> 00:55:12,399
There's a detention centre in China
632
00:55:12,400 --> 00:55:14,600
for defectors.
633
00:55:14,840 --> 00:55:18,239
I was held there
for about four months.
634
00:55:18,240 --> 00:55:22,879
They torture you until you admit
you're a defector.
635
00:55:22,880 --> 00:55:24,959
I was hung upside down
636
00:55:24,960 --> 00:55:28,399
and beaten for 14 hours.
637
00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:31,319
I was so worried about my hands
638
00:55:31,320 --> 00:55:33,799
I tucked them tightly in my armpits.
639
00:55:33,800 --> 00:55:36,760
I thought, I can't ruin my hands.
640
00:55:43,960 --> 00:55:48,039
Small groups
of South Korean Christian activists
641
00:55:48,040 --> 00:55:51,720
attempt to spirit defectors
out of China.
642
00:55:54,040 --> 00:55:58,000
Shenyang, China
500 miles from North Korean border
643
00:55:59,120 --> 00:56:01,720
an actual mission
644
00:56:04,840 --> 00:56:09,840
rescue mission office -
February, 2008
645
00:56:13,040 --> 00:56:15,560
going to meet NK defectors
646
00:56:21,200 --> 00:56:23,160
Back. Back
647
00:56:25,480 --> 00:56:27,920
Over there.
648
00:56:29,200 --> 00:56:31,199
Defector pick-up point
649
00:56:31,200 --> 00:56:33,560
Can you see us? We're here.
650
00:56:41,360 --> 00:56:46,200
Look at that guy over there.
651
00:56:51,920 --> 00:56:54,680
Suspected Chinese agent
652
00:57:03,920 --> 00:57:06,839
Not there. Turn around.
653
00:57:06,840 --> 00:57:08,079
Turn around.
654
00:57:08,080 --> 00:57:10,879
They were supposed to be
at the glass door.
655
00:57:10,880 --> 00:57:14,880
Get out of there.
656
00:57:16,760 --> 00:57:19,520
Mission aborted
657
00:57:24,520 --> 00:57:27,479
CHOI YOUNG-HUN
658
00:57:27,480 --> 00:57:31,520
A SOUTH KOREAN ACTIVIST WHO
TRIED TO RESCUE NORTH KOREANS,
659
00:57:35,080 --> 00:57:37,840
HE SPENT FOUR YEARS
JAILED IN CHINA
660
00:57:38,400 --> 00:57:41,079
Come here quick.
I need to hold your hands.
661
00:57:41,080 --> 00:57:43,000
I'm shaking.
662
00:57:43,360 --> 00:57:44,599
You were more distressed.
663
00:57:44,600 --> 00:57:47,840
She's the hero.
It's my wife who's the hero.
664
00:57:50,400 --> 00:57:53,319
Chinese prison is simply hell.
665
00:57:53,320 --> 00:57:54,920
10 days after his release
666
00:57:58,640 --> 00:58:01,399
Chinese prisoners
667
00:58:01,400 --> 00:58:04,039
work 18 hours a day.
668
00:58:04,040 --> 00:58:06,519
You know
the Korean wedding bouquets?
669
00:58:06,520 --> 00:58:11,559
You make the flowers
670
00:58:11,560 --> 00:58:14,400
out of paper,
671
00:58:14,880 --> 00:58:16,439
tie them with wires.
672
00:58:16,440 --> 00:58:19,760
You make
673
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:24,239
the flower shapes like this,
674
00:58:24,240 --> 00:58:27,359
then cover them with asbestos powder,
675
00:58:27,360 --> 00:58:30,080
which causes lung disease.
676
00:58:30,800 --> 00:58:32,999
Asbestos,
677
00:58:33,000 --> 00:58:35,479
it's very irritating.
678
00:58:35,480 --> 00:58:38,399
So we make these artificial flowers,
679
00:58:38,400 --> 00:58:41,159
and the irony is that they
are exported
680
00:58:41,160 --> 00:58:44,400
to South Korea.
681
00:58:50,200 --> 00:58:53,599
I thought everything
would be back to normal
682
00:58:53,600 --> 00:58:56,160
once he came back.
683
00:58:56,600 --> 00:58:59,999
But he is broken,
684
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:02,879
mentally unstable.
685
00:59:02,880 --> 00:59:06,400
I don't know what
the future holds for our family.
686
00:59:07,480 --> 00:59:10,800
It's nerve-wracking.
687
00:59:22,160 --> 00:59:26,400
In North Korea
they say there is no God,
688
00:59:27,000 --> 00:59:31,439
but my family has been religious
for generations.
689
00:59:31,440 --> 00:59:34,040
They were all arrested.
690
00:59:35,520 --> 00:59:37,719
I just thought, that's how life is.
691
00:59:37,720 --> 00:59:41,320
I had to hide my faith.
692
00:59:44,360 --> 00:59:49,360
There was a Korean-Chinese pastor
693
00:59:50,200 --> 00:59:53,359
who urged us
694
00:59:53,360 --> 00:59:55,240
to come to China.
695
00:59:56,000 --> 01:00:00,280
I stayed with a missionary for a year
who taught me the Bible.
696
01:00:02,080 --> 01:00:06,159
Then he wanted me
to go back to North Korea
697
01:00:06,160 --> 01:00:08,839
and spread the gospel.
698
01:00:08,840 --> 01:00:10,719
I said no.
699
01:00:10,720 --> 01:00:12,800
I left because life there
was too hard.
700
01:00:14,920 --> 01:00:18,360
I was determined
to go to South Korea.
701
01:00:19,880 --> 01:00:24,319
With the missionary's help,
702
01:00:24,320 --> 01:00:26,960
I made it there safely.
703
01:00:30,000 --> 01:00:32,919
In China, a fellow defector told me
704
01:00:32,920 --> 01:00:36,439
there was a piano in the church.
705
01:00:36,440 --> 01:00:39,359
So I went to the church
at the foot of the mountain.
706
01:00:39,360 --> 01:00:41,919
And that's how
I got to play the piano.
707
01:00:41,920 --> 01:00:45,519
They liked my playing.
708
01:00:45,520 --> 01:00:50,359
They asked me to stay
and play the piano.
709
01:00:50,360 --> 01:00:53,920
From then on, I lived in the church.
710
01:00:54,400 --> 01:00:55,559
Through them,
711
01:00:55,560 --> 01:00:59,560
I met South Korean missionaries
who helped me get to South Korea.
712
01:01:05,240 --> 01:01:10,240
Unlike China, Mongolia does not
repatriate North Korean refugees.
713
01:01:12,760 --> 01:01:16,359
So for North Koreans,
it is one of the few routes
714
01:01:16,360 --> 01:01:18,960
out of China, to freedom.
715
01:01:22,880 --> 01:01:26,119
The guide was leading
716
01:01:26,120 --> 01:01:29,399
a group of defectors.
717
01:01:29,400 --> 01:01:33,079
My sister and I had to meet them
at the border of China and Mongolia.
718
01:01:33,080 --> 01:01:36,480
Someone suddenly appeared in front
on us. Everyone scattered.
719
01:01:36,960 --> 01:01:40,599
It all happened so suddenly
720
01:01:40,600 --> 01:01:42,439
Our guide ran away.
721
01:01:42,440 --> 01:01:44,599
I didn't know what to do.
722
01:01:44,600 --> 01:01:46,559
I wanted to go back
723
01:01:46,560 --> 01:01:49,880
but I couldn't speak Chinese.
724
01:01:55,800 --> 01:02:00,120
I couldn't think at all.
And the future seemed pitch black.
725
01:02:01,800 --> 01:02:05,119
Only me and a teenage boy
726
01:02:05,120 --> 01:02:07,759
made it into Mongolia.
727
01:02:07,760 --> 01:02:11,400
Everyone else was arrested.
728
01:02:11,920 --> 01:02:14,079
They've all been released.
729
01:02:14,080 --> 01:02:18,320
Except my sister. I have no news.
730
01:02:18,560 --> 01:02:21,599
I think I won't see her again
731
01:02:21,600 --> 01:02:24,800
in this life.
732
01:02:27,440 --> 01:02:31,640
Don't worry about us, sister.
Our father is still with us.
733
01:03:11,840 --> 01:03:16,840
We open our hearts.
734
01:03:24,480 --> 01:03:29,480
Without reserve full of hope.
735
01:03:37,480 --> 01:03:42,480
We live relying on General
as our god.
736
01:03:50,040 --> 01:03:55,040
Only on our General forever.
737
01:05:20,120 --> 01:05:21,840
The future?
738
01:05:24,200 --> 01:05:25,920
Well, I don't know.
739
01:05:27,920 --> 01:05:30,239
Kim Jong-il
only talks about reunification.
740
01:05:30,240 --> 01:05:33,200
It won't happen while he's alive.
741
01:05:35,800 --> 01:05:37,000
For over 20 years,
742
01:05:37,760 --> 01:05:41,039
the entire North Korean population
743
01:05:41,040 --> 01:05:44,280
has stopped working.
744
01:05:44,520 --> 01:05:47,039
If that turns into 30 years,
745
01:05:47,040 --> 01:05:49,800
I think it will be over.
746
01:05:50,760 --> 01:05:53,239
We refugees don't actively
go out and fight
747
01:05:53,240 --> 01:05:57,719
because of the danger to ourselves
and our families still in the North.
748
01:05:57,720 --> 01:06:00,720
We still fear North Korea.
749
01:06:13,200 --> 01:06:18,359
If outside countries
stop helping Kim Jong-il,
750
01:06:18,360 --> 01:06:22,319
North Koreans will end this tyranny
with their bare hands.
751
01:06:22,320 --> 01:06:25,520
I am certain.
752
01:06:27,320 --> 01:06:29,399
If they fight for democracy,
753
01:06:29,400 --> 01:06:32,559
no matter how many laws there are
against "political" crimes,
754
01:06:32,560 --> 01:06:37,199
there won't be enough prisons
for a million political prisoners.
755
01:06:37,200 --> 01:06:39,000
They can't execute a million people.
756
01:06:44,720 --> 01:06:47,919
We know when Kim Jong-il dies,
757
01:06:47,920 --> 01:06:52,199
there will be chaos.
758
01:06:52,200 --> 01:06:55,519
But whatever chaos comes
759
01:06:55,520 --> 01:06:59,199
couldn't be worse
760
01:06:59,200 --> 01:07:01,879
than the chaos under Kim Jong-il.
761
01:07:01,880 --> 01:07:04,839
When the leader changes
762
01:07:04,840 --> 01:07:07,559
and I can go back,
763
01:07:07,560 --> 01:07:12,639
I want to do all I can to change it
as fast as possible.
764
01:07:12,640 --> 01:07:16,000
I want to make that land prosperous.
765
01:07:30,960 --> 01:07:32,999
In North Korea,
766
01:07:33,000 --> 01:07:37,399
it's the dictatorship that's evil.
767
01:07:37,400 --> 01:07:39,239
If you look at the individual,
768
01:07:39,240 --> 01:07:44,000
many are so good
and innocent and kind.
769
01:07:49,200 --> 01:07:53,919
If Kim Jong-il's dictatorship
collapsed now,
770
01:07:53,920 --> 01:07:57,600
I'd be in North Korea tomorrow.
771
01:08:07,560 --> 01:08:10,559
Camps existed in the past,
772
01:08:10,560 --> 01:08:11,879
like in the Hitler,
773
01:08:11,880 --> 01:08:15,839
Mao and Stalin eras,
774
01:08:15,840 --> 01:08:19,719
but I think it's a disgrace
to the human race
775
01:08:19,720 --> 01:08:22,359
that such camps exist today.
776
01:08:22,360 --> 01:08:25,399
I want Kim Jong-il to fear.
777
01:08:25,400 --> 01:08:29,039
I want to make him stand
in the International Court.
778
01:08:29,040 --> 01:08:33,679
He killed and imprisoned
779
01:08:33,680 --> 01:08:37,239
tens of thousands of people.
780
01:08:37,240 --> 01:08:41,039
He forces young children
to watch public executions
781
01:08:41,040 --> 01:08:44,839
and terrorizes the population.
782
01:08:44,840 --> 01:08:49,159
That in itself is a crime.
783
01:08:49,160 --> 01:08:52,479
We have no freedom of speech.
784
01:08:52,480 --> 01:08:55,639
We have no freedom of movement.
785
01:08:55,640 --> 01:08:58,840
If the person
who created such a place
786
01:08:59,200 --> 01:09:03,439
isn't a criminal,
I don't know who is.
787
01:09:03,440 --> 01:09:06,719
I'm grateful for South Korea
788
01:09:06,720 --> 01:09:09,599
and the world
789
01:09:09,600 --> 01:09:12,319
and peace.
790
01:09:12,320 --> 01:09:15,759
I love the people
who love peace and liberty.
791
01:09:15,760 --> 01:09:18,879
Since I've tasted freedom,
792
01:09:18,880 --> 01:09:21,679
I need to share it with my people.
793
01:09:21,680 --> 01:09:26,680
We have to free the North Koreans.
794
01:09:33,720 --> 01:09:37,679
I wonder if anyone's listening
795
01:09:37,680 --> 01:09:39,439
to our pleas.
796
01:09:39,440 --> 01:09:44,120
North Koreans can't speak,
797
01:09:44,880 --> 01:09:47,999
can't see, can't listen,
798
01:09:48,000 --> 01:09:50,559
can't eat, can't smell, can't speak.
799
01:09:50,560 --> 01:09:55,719
They're bound by wires, like plants.
800
01:09:55,720 --> 01:09:57,599
I feel such compassion for them.
801
01:09:57,600 --> 01:10:01,480
The world has to save North Korea.
802
01:10:02,040 --> 01:10:03,960
We have to speak of it.
803
01:10:48,080 --> 01:10:50,639
We wish to thank all of the people
who participated in this film.
804
01:10:50,640 --> 01:10:54,239
We hope their courageous testimony
will help save the millions of people
805
01:10:54,240 --> 01:10:56,240
still at risk in North Korea.
58921
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