.Seoul Train: Film Documentary
Hollywood, California, Nov 5, 7, 2004
Seoul Train is a documentary dealing with the North Korean refugees using the underground railroad to escape to freedom. Seoul Train will be playing at the AFI Fest in Hollywood for two days only. Jim and Lisa (producers of Seoul Train) will be there both days. They wanted to being awareness to the human rights violation in North Korea. From awareness brings change. Please come out and show your support. People actually risk their lives to help others.
Nov 5 @ 7:30pm (tix are $11, but Jim is trying to get tix for $8 for us)
Nov 7 @ 2:30pm (tix are $7)
Website about Seoul Train
http://www.vailsymposium.org/SeoulTrainpress.htm
Website about AFI Festival
http://www.afi.com/onscreen/afifest/2004/
Official Website for Seoul Train
http://www.seoultrain.com/
Fordham Law School
9-30-04The Crowley Program in International Human Rights & the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea proudly invites you to the most comprehensive conference human rights advocacy conference to come to New York
Thursday, September 30th from 10:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.
Fordham University School of Law's McNally Amphitheatre
140 W. 62nd Street, New York City (between Columbus & Amsterdam)To register or for more information e-mail myim@f... or call 917-577-5249. Registration is free and donations to support advocacy efforts are encouraged.
This is an all day conference and will feature discussions on Prison Camps, Refugees, Advocacy Strategies for Students, and Access to Food. North Korean defectors will also participate by providing real life testimony into the atrocities and starvation in North Korea. In addition, the conference will feature multimedia presentations and a gallery exhibition of artwork by North Korean refugee children.
Confirmed Speakers Include:
Hon. Steven Solarz
Former Congressman of the State of New York & Chairman of the
Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific AffairsMarcus Noland
Senior Fellow, Institute for International Economics and Author
of "Avoiding the Apocalypse: The Future of the Two Koreas"David Hawk
Author of "The Hidden Gulag - Exposing North Korea's Prison Camps"
and former Executive Director of Amnesty InternationalJana Mason
International Rescue CommitteeDeborah Liang-Fenton
Executive Director of the U.S. Committe for Human Rights in North
KoreaMartin Flaherty
Co-Director, Joseph R. Crowley Program in International Human Rights
and Professor, Fordham School of LawAbout the Organizations :
The U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (www.hrnk.org) is the leading U.S. based organization in the field of North Korean human rights research and advocacy. Launched in 2001, the Committee was created to generate a broad base of interest about conditions in North Korea and to conduct and publish research focusing U.S. and world attention on human rights abuse in that country. The Committee's work will lay a foundation of current and comprehensive information that will enable it to shine a spotlight on the abuses being perpetrated in North Korea, and also to help individuals, NGOs and policymakers seek ways to improve the treatment of the North Korean people. In particular, the Committee will focus on the prison camp system, the question of access to food, and the plight of North Korean refugee populations.
The Crowley Program in International Human Rights (law.fordham.edu/Crowley.htm) is the leading law school based human rights institute in America . The Crowley Program aims to increase awareness of human rights problems around the world and to train lawyers to address those problems throughout their careers. Each year, the Crowley Program sends a team of leading human rights experts with six law students to a subject country or region to investigate specific issues of concern in the area of human rights. Past missions include investigations in Hong Kong on the One China Policy, Mexico ?s Criminal Justice System, and most recently Kenya on the effects of USAID restrictions on reproductive health care. The Crowley Program has hosted many groundbreaking conference on human rights which featured renown speakers such as Mary Robinson (former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights), Harold Hongju Koh (former Assistant Secretary of State), and John Sweeney (President, AFL-CIO), to name a few.
Korean War Documents
7-14-04The Woodrow Wilson Center's Cold War International History Project (Christian F. Ostermann, director) has published dozens of formerly secret internal documents from the archives of North Korea's former Communist allies for the 1950-1988 period.
The documents are the result of a special effort by the Project to mine the archives of North Korea's former allies. The CWIHP Korea Initiative has been systematically exploring East European, Russian and (to a lesser extent) Chinese archives for insights into perceptions and policymaking in Pyongyang. The Korea Initiative presented its first findings at a workshop hosted in conjunction with George Washington University in March 2003 ("North Korea's Crisis Behavior, Past and Present: New Light from the Archives of its Former Allies"), at which leading Korea specialists from academia, research centers, and government agencies in the United States, the Republic of Korea and Eastern Europe provided a first analysis of the significance of the new documents on North Korea.
The newly accessible documentation bears on such questions as North Korea's reaction to aid and external pressures, the internal workings of the Kim regime and the ideological prism of the North Korean leadership.
Included in the sensational collection are transcripts between Kim Il-Sung and Communist leaders, as well as dozens of embassy reports from European embassies in Pyongyang.The documents can be downloaded at no charge at http://cwihp.si.edu, or a copy of the most recent CWIHP Bulletin can be obtained by emailing your full mail address to coldwar1@si.edu. Please feel free to distribute this message.
Christian F. Ostermann,
Director, Cold War International History Project
Woodrow Wilson Center
http://cwihp.si.edu
North Korea Human Rights Act 2004
April 29, 2004 - The impact of the NK Freedom rally at DC yesterday needs to carry over into more grassroots level support for the bill, especially over the next two weeks as the North Korea Freedom Act will come up for markup before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Quite a few senators are trying to act cautious and sensitive with regards to NK, this being an election year. So we need to show them that there is constituent support out there (in their home states) FOR the bill. Here is the latest version of the bill and a sample letter that people can use to urge their senators to support it. A focused strategy on the members of Foreign Relations Committee would be more welcome as a pressing need. Please send written letters since these are more effective than emails.
Petition Canadian Immigration
Canada Refuses Refugee Status Again, North Korean Defector Faces Death
February 23, 2004 - Canada has accepted Song Dae Ri's six-year-old Joshua son as a refugee, but refuses to accept the father. Ri's wife was executed for treason in North Korea in April of 2002, after her parents lured her home. Ri's father has also been killed by North Korean agents in 2002. IRB member Bonnie Milliner has rejected the asylum case of Ri, claiming that as a member of North Korea's government (Ri was a trade official), he is complicit in North Korea's crimes against humanity, although Canada's War Crimes Unit has rejected this assertion. It is commonly understood that you cannot reject the application of a refugee who will face physical danger or death upon return to his native nation- this has been more than proven in Mr. Ri's case. There is no doubt that Song Dae Ri will be executed upon deportation to North Korea, as his family already has been.
It takes just a moment to write a quick email expressing support for Ri, and disapproval of Canada's actions. Even as Americans, we can show them that the world's eyes are watching Canada's decision- this sets a dangerous precedent.
Immigration Minister Judy Sgro: sgroj@parl.gc.ca
Or:
Parliament Hill Office
Rm 239, Confederation Bldg
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada, K1A 0A6
Ann McLellan, deputy Prime Minister of Canada: McLellan.A@parl.gc.ca
The Globe and Mail: Letters@GlobeAndMail.ca
The Montreal Gazette: letters@thegazette.canwest.com
The Ottawa Citizen: letters@thecitizen.canwest.com
The Toronto Star: lettertoed@thestar.ca
-- read up: Canada's Treatment of Dissident Condemned
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040206.wdepo0206/BNSto ry/Front/
Human-rights groups and the South Korean community expressed outrage yesterday at Canada's refusal to grant asylum to a North Korean defector who would be executed if deported to his homeland. The Immigration and Refugee Board rejected Song Dae Ri's case even though the board acknowledged that the former trade official likely would suffer the same fate as his wife if returned home: death by execution. But the board accepted Mr. Ri's six-year-old son, Chang-Il, which would lead to the separation of father and child.
Ottowa To Act Fast On Dissident's Case Under pressure from the Korean community and Liberal backbenchers, Canada's Immigration Minister pledged Thursday to expedite the case of a North Korean defector who will be executed if sent home. Judy Sgro said she will look into the humanitarian appeal of Song Dae Ri, who was rejected as a refugee even though the Immigration and Refugee Board agreed he will likely receive the death penalty for treason if deported. "I will be attempting to deal with that issue as quickly as I can," she said outside the House of Commons. "How could you not be moved by that story? Clearly, I was."
Canada Again Rules Against Defector http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20040219.wkorea0220/BNSt ory/Front/
The federal government has again branded a North Korean defector a war criminal not entitled to Canada's protection, despite a lengthy government report stating that Song Dae Ri should stay in Canada because he would be killed for treason if sent home.
Robert Genier, a senior analyst with Citizenship and Immigration Canada, endorsed a much-criticized decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board. That ruling found Mr. Ri guilty of war crimes merely for being a trade official in North Korea's secretive, repressive regime. No allegations of specific crimes against humanity have been made against him, and Canada's War Crimes Unit found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Mr. Ri testified at his hearing that he traded commodities in Beijing and was not a prison guard or concentration camp worker. He said he became fearful for his life after a colleague overheard him criticizing the brutal excesses of Kim Jong-Il's regime and the atrocities committed in camps for political prisoners. He said he left Beijing using a false South Korean passport.
--
5th International Conference
North Korean Human Rights and Refugees: The 5th International Conference
Warsaw, Poland
Feb 29-Mar 02, 2004
Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights & Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
For more information, contact:
Alice Jean Suh,
International Campaign Team
Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights
+82-2-723-1672
nkhuman@nkhumanrights.or.kr
http://www.nkhumanrights.or.kr/NKHR_new/new_pages/fifth/inter_eng_5th.htmlThe 5th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees will be held on Feb 29- Mar 02 in downtown Warsaw, Poland. It will be co-hosted by the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR) and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR). The conference is open to the public.
The opening ceremony will take place at the Sejm (Parliament) and the following sessions will convene in the international conference room of the Grand Hotel. Defectors, journalists, NGO representatives, policy makers, activists and academics will gather in Warsaw to protest the human rights tragedy in North Korea. Together, they will shine the light of human rights into the world¡¯s darkest and most closed nation.
The conference will provide a comprehensive look at the silent holocaust ongoing in North Korea. Millions have died during a decade of famine and countless others have disappeared in North Korea¡¯s brutal prison system. Driven by hunger, hundreds of thousands have fled to China, where they live in constant fear of repatriation.
The three main areas of discussion at the conference will be: North Korean Crimes Against Humanity, the Role of International Society in the North Korean Human Rights Problem, and Planning Future Actions.
Representatives from the following organizations have confirmed their particiaption: National Endowment for Democracy, the US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, Defense Forum Foundation, Life Funds for North Korean Refugees, Jubilee Campaign USA, Chosun Journal, the French Committee to Help the Population in North Korea, Mansfield Foundation, House of Lords (UK) and General Secretariat of the EU Council.
The Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights is a non-partisan, non-governmental organization that has advocated for North Korean human rights since 1996. It remains one of the most comprehensive sources of testimonies from defectors, researchers and activists. In July 2003, NKHR was awarded the Democracy Award by the National Endowment for Democracy.
The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights was founded in 1989, after seven years of underground activities as the Helsinki Committee. Their original mission was to monitor compliance with the Helsinki Final Act in the Soviet-bloc countries, and today HFHR is one of Europe's oldest and most respected human rights organizations.
Please visit our website at www.nkhumanrights.or.kr
For a registration form, please email:
friends@nkhumanrights.or.kr
For a detailed agenda of the conference, please go to:
http://www.nkhumanrights.or.kr/NKHR_new/new_pages/fifth/inter_eng_5th.html
Alice Jean Suh
International Campaign Team
Mobile: +82-11-9681-0021
Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights(NKHR)
Room 401, Shimji Bldg. 10-22 Gyobuk-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 100-090 Korea.
Tel 82-(0)2-723-1672,2671
Fax 82-(0)2-723-1671
www.nkhumanrights.or.kr
Human Rights Ground Zero
WHAT: "North Korea: Human Rights Ground Zero"
WHEN: Tuesday, January 27, 2004, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
WHERE: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
UCLA School of Law, Room 1347
Los Angeles, CaliforniaCommissioners will hear testimony from the following confirmed
participants:David Hawk, Senior Researcher, U.S. Committee on Human Rights in North
Korea and author of The Hidden Gulag, a major ground-breaking report on
North Korea's prison campsReverend Isaac (last name withheld), Cornerstone Ministry (assists
religious believers in North Korea)Suzanne Sholte, President, Defense Forum Foundation (provides bipartisan
educational programs on defense, national security, foreign policy and
human rights issues specifically for the benefit of Congress)Roger Winter, Director, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID)The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to give independent policy
recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and the Congress.Visit our Web site at www.uscirf.gov
Dean Michael K. Young, Chair Felice D. Gaer, Vice Chair Nina Shea, Vice
Chair Preeta D. Bansal Patti Chang
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput Khaled Abou El Fadl Richard Land Bishop
Ricardo Ramirez
Ambassador John V. Hanford III, Ex-Officio Joseph R. Crapa, Executive
Director800 NORTH CAPITOL STREET, NW SUITE 790 WASHINGTON, DC 20002 202-523-3240
202-523-5020 (FAX)
NK Freedom Bill
10/20/03 - For the next two weeks, we are gathering the names and addresses (city, state) of churches and organizations that are willing to go on public record supporting the US resolution to help N. Korean refugees (for more info on the bill)
Once compiled, we will make this information available to members of Congress. There is also the possibility that the supporters will be recorded in the Library of Congress along with the resolution when it is introduced. So please consider emailing us ASAP the contact information for any local churches or organizations that you may be affiliated with and that would be willing to support the bill. Thank you.
Edward KimHwang Jang Yop
SPEAKER:
Hwang Jang-Yop
North Korea's Highest Ranking Defector
LUNCHEON TOPIC:
"What America Needs to Know About North Korea"
WHEN: Friday, October 31, 2003, 12:00 noon - 1:45 pm
WHERE: B-339 Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill
RSVP: Due to security restrictions, you must RSVP (acceptances only) by email to skswm@aol.com or by phone to 703-534-4313 by noon, Thursday, October 30th to attend this forum. Please have photo I.D. available.
PLEASE NOTE: A question and answer session will follow Mr. Hwang's remarks.
COST: No charge to Members of Congress or Congressional Staff. A $26 fee is requested from all others to cover the cost of the lunch. Due to Congressional rules, check must be received prior to the lunch to DFF, 3014 Castle Road, Falls Church, Virginia 22044.
Helping Hands Korea
27 Sept, 6:00 PM at Seoul USO, SKorea
Benefit concert featuring The Dove Choir and Musicians from South Post Chapel. North Korean refugee information and light refreshments. Also an art auction featuring prints and greeting cards from the Seoul International Arts Society (SIVAS) artists. This charity event will be held at the Seoul USO in Nam Yong Dong just North of Samgakji Subway Station, intersection on the left. 27 Sept, 6:00 PM until 8:30PM All proceeds to Helping Hands Korea to aid North Korean Refugees. Suggested donation for this event is $15 or KRW20,000. Call 011-9228-4175 or 011-9652-6731 if you need more information or directions. To learn more about the activities of Helping Hands, click hereNorbert Vollertsen Speaks in Los Angeles
PRESS RELEASE
Contact Douglas Shin at +1-562-402-8111 or
+1-562-458-5744 for more infoThe 1st conference for Korean Congress for NK Human
Rights (Korean chapter for NKFC) will be held as
follows:Time: 7PM, Sept. 9 (Tue.)
NORBERT VOLLERTSEN and DOUGLAS SHIN will speak at this conference.
Place: The Great Vision Church of LA
433 S. Normandie Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
Discovery Channel, August 19, 2003, Children of the Secret State
Discovery Times Channel will Air Documentary on North Korean Children
Tuesday, August 19 from 8-9PM
CHILDREN OF THE SECRET STATE, a U.S. premiere documentary airing on the Discovery Times Channel on August 19, 8-9PM (ET), uses secretly filmed footage from a North Korean refugee who risks his life to capture the plight of those who are going hungry in North Korea.
For more information, click here
NK Prayer Rally in Los Angeles, August 16, 2003
I would like to invite you to a very special event. NK Missions, the
organization that I'm interning for this summer, is holding an awesome
night of prayer and praise on behalf of North Korea.Do you know what's going on in North Korea?
· US News reports that "NK runs vast prison camps of unspeakable
cruelty" where an estimated 50,000 men, women, and children are imprisoned
per camp.US Department of State labels NK as "one of the seven nations
that supports terrorism."
· Many reports of "large scale manhunts in North Korea and the
execution and imprisonment of North Korean Christians."
· The plight of NK refugees are labeled as "the escape from hell" and
the "invisible exodus."What's going on here? Don't you want to know more?!?!?
So much suffering... so much pain... WE MUST PRAY!!
Come join us on Saturday AUGUST 16th at 6pm - YOUNG NAK PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH! We know you know where that is. We know you want to be there.
God is calling you to come. Let's join together in one body, one
voice, and one spirit.PLEASE reply to this e-mail, call me, IM me, come to my house, and let
me know that you're interested. RSVPs are highly regarded =)Date: August 16, 2003
Time: Saturday, 6:00-9:00 pm
Event: AWAKE: Intercessory Prayer and Praise Night for North Korea
Location: YoungNak EM Celebration Chapel
1721 North Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90031
For more info, visit www.nkmissions.com-=VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED=-
please contact volunteer@nkmissions.com or sign up at
www.nkmissions.com
_________--_________--_________--_________--_________--_________--_________
Prep-Event: August 9th Prayer Meeting
Time: Saturday, 5:00-6:30pm)
Location: Young Nak EM Fellowship Hall
1721 North Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Why: To pray for the main event. To gather volunteers.
_________--_________--_________--_________--_________--_________--_________P.S. Pass the word
P.P.S. I have attached an e-mail poster :) If you would like to
publicize at your church, please tell me so that I can send you the stuff!
<<NK AWAKE poster.pdf>>
Help 4 NK refugees come to the US
July 4, 2003As mentioned earlier today, 4 N. Korean refugees escaped into the British consulate in Shanghai. They have expressed a strong desire to come to the United States for asylum.
I and three local churches in Fullerton, California, have expressed our support for their asylum bid in the U.S. If you also support their bid, please fax the following people:
The British Consul General in Shanghai
Tel: 021-6279-7650
Fax: 0086-21-6279-7651Ambassador Arthur E. Dewey
Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Migration and Refugees
fax: 202-647-8162Your local Congress representative:
http://congress.nw.dc.us/townhall/dbq/officials/Please also fill out this petition at your church or organization and fax it to the number enclosed. http://www.chosunjournal.com/petitionnk4.doc
Torrance First Presbyterian Church
1880 Crenshaw Bl. Torrance, CA 90501
Event flyerTorrance First Presbyterian Church is putting on a play production entitled "DuriHana" (Two become One). It is a drama that is loosely based on a story published in the LA Times which focuses on the current plight of many North Koreans. It is our hope that this story will bring attention to the cries and suffering of the North Korean people as well as the way in which God is still powerfully guarding, moving and working in the midst of such trials. We pray that this important testimony will answer our greater hope that God will mobilize people to respond to what God desires, including greater calls for prayer, financial contribution to relief agencies or increased activities to call our own government to action. Contact Sunny Chang, 310-618-2222 x119.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FOR UCLA STUDENTS
NEW CLASS AVAILABLE FOR REGISTER:
SURVIVING A NORTH KOREAN POLITICAL PRISON CAMP 101"
*CLASS INFORMATION*
INSTRUCTORS: YONG KiM
SURViVOR OF NORTH KOREAN POLiTiCAL PRiSON CAMP NO.18
REV. PETER LEE
REFUGEE AiD WORKER
DATE: 28 MAY, 2003 (WEDNESDAY 6PM)
ROOM: KiNSEY 169CONTACT: David Cho (dcho113@ucla.edu)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ALSO, CHECK OUT THIS FREE MOVIE ON MAY 29TH (6PM) @ PUBLIC POLICY 1246:
SHADOWS AND WHISPERS"
a day in the life of a N. Korean refugee family)
An Evening with North Korean RefugeesDear Friends,
On the evening of Wednesday, May 21st, Seoul Foreign correspondents´ Club will host a charity event by Helping Hands Korea at the 18th Floor of the Seoul Press Center. A charity dinner and silent art auction have been organized to raise both awareness and donations to ease the plight of North Korean refugees who have increasingly been forced to move into mountain caves and hideaways in northeastern China. Proceeds from this event will be dispatched to meet the refugees´ emergency needs.
In the past six to seven years, a growing litany of reports has emerged from the Yenbian area of China that, patched together, sketches a grave human rights disaster. Best guesses put the total number of North Koreans currently in hiding in China in the range of 100,000 to 300,000. Testimonies from the refugees, three of which you will hear that evening, indicate that flight from their homeland is not only a desperate search for a subsistence level of food and support for their families, but is, equally importantly, born of their quest for even the faintest semblance of a future that is shaped by themselves instead of a totalitarian regime.
The Program
6:30-7:15 Andre Rice & Fee Dobbin, Irish headliners in Seoul, perform their internationally acclaimed reportoire as guests get acquainted with former North Korean refugees, now in the South.7:15-8:00 Dinner
-Video footage of the plight of refugees in China
8:15-8:30 Opening Remarks
-SFCC President, Sohn Jie-ae and Helping Hands Korea Founder, Tim Peters
8:30-9:20 Testimonies of three former North Korean refugees interspersed with two classical music interludes
9:20- Q & A and further individual discussion with refugees
Silent Auction
Throughout the evening, guests will be encouraged to view and make silent written bids for works of art, both originals and prints, on display in the SFCC and its entranceway. The art has been created and donated by the artists of SIVAS(Seoul International Visual Arts Society), founded by Thomas Dembeck and Y.S.Lee with the intention that all winning bids be donated to refugee aid.
Ticket Prices for the May 21st charity event are as follows :
SFCC Members : \35,000 per personNon-SFCCMembers : \40,000 per person
Students \20,000 per person
* Tickets are available at SFCC Secretariat from May 12.
“An Evening with North Korean Refugees : May 21st Charity Benefit Dinner to Aid a growing Human Right Emergency’ will be a remarkable riveting personal stories. We look forward to your presence at this unprecedented event.
Please RSVP, as seating is limited!! Thanks so much, Tim Peters
North Korean Human Rights Week--May 12-16, Stanford University
All events are open to the public! Please email me if you have any questions, and feel free to forward this to friends--Sarah (from Stanford KASA)
Where can 2.5 MILLION people die from FAMINE in a mere three years while the nation's leader spends $90 MILLION on his 57th birthday party?
------------------------------------
North Korean Human Rights Week
M A Y 1 2 - 1 6
nkconcern.stanford.edu
------------------------------------Monday May 12
8pm, Kresge Auditorium
Testimony of Yong Kim, North Korean defector and Douglas Shin, NK human rights activistHear Yong Kim share his experiences as a former political prisoner and refugee in China. Douglas Shin will speak about his efforts to lead refugees out of China and organize international demonstrations.
************************************************************************
Tuesday May 13
8pm, Main Quad - Building 200-02
Documentary Screening of "Shadows and Whispers"An award-winning look at North Korean refugees who escape the famine endemic to their homeland by crossing into Northeast China. Once across the border, they are illegal immigrants in China who cannot return to North Korea
safely. Secretly videotaped over a period of 12 months, the film focuses on one family's struggle with their precariously undefined status, and the choices they make to survive.************************************************************************
Wednesday May 14
12-1:30pm, White Plaza
Letter writing campaign, NKHR exhibitSupport North Korean refugees by writing a letter to your congressmen. Learn about the harsh realities facing North Koreans today through an interactive exhibit.
************************************************************************
Thursday May 15
8pm, El Centro Chicano Lounge
Rights and RamenAn informal discussion with Daniel Yoo of Free North Korean Refugees. Get a glimpse of how Korean-American activists are taking a stand against the human rights atrocities in North Korea and find out what you can do.
Cup ramen will be served.************************************************************************
Friday May 16
8pm, Lagunita Dining Hall
Stanford Hwimori Benefit Concert, with special guests Taiko and Stanford TaekwondoAll proceeds will go to Citizen's Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that assists North Korean asylum-seekers and their protectors by sending money, clothing, and medicine, and petitions the host countries to grant due protection as refugees until their safe emigration. NKHR also provides resettlement assistance for defectors in South Korea and campaigns for public awareness of North Korean human rights issues in the international community.
$5 minimum suggested donation
===============
sarah*chilim*ihn
sarahihn@stanford.edu ===============
Bethel Korean Church, Irvine, CA
For those in the Southern California area: Saturday, March 29th at 7:00pm, there will be a music concert fundraiser for North Korean refugees at Bethel Korean Church in Irvine. Admission is $10 at the door & I was informed that one of the musicians is linked with the Eugene Bell Foundation -->you can check out their website at http://www.eugenebell.org so I am assuming the raised funds will go to that organization. In case you are interested, the special concert will feature a violinist and Jazz pianist performing works by Bach, Winiawski, Paganini & Gershwin. It sounds like a great program for a wonderful cause.
Chinese embassy protest, Los Angeles
4:30pm, February 16, 2003
Please mark your calendar for Sunday afternoons between 4:30 and 6:30 PM starting Feb. 16, for the LA area protest rallies in front of Chinese Consulate.
The General Consulate of People's Republic of China
443 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 380-2506, 380-1961 (fax)Do bring your own candle and papercup to keep your hands safe from the hot wax. If you want to bring your own picket/banner, here's some suggestions for the slogans:
Release the boatpeople!
Release the South Koreans!
Release the MFA-7!
Stop sending back the North Koreans!Remember it's the tenacity to show up week after week and the format of demonstration peaceful enough to invite other citizens and their family members. Together we can put an end to the plight of North Korean refugees, as well as Pyongyang's nuclear threat!
Doug Shin
+1-562-402-8111 or +1-562-458-5744UPDATE:
1. Seoul: Norbert Vollertsen started on Feb. 6 a one-man demo at the Chinese missions in Seoul. It will continue and be upgraded into a street march from the Chinese Consulate (Kyobo Bldg.) to the old Chinese Embassy (Myongdong) and back. Then they will begin the large-scale candlelight protest rallies in front of Chinese missions in Seoul. Also on Feb. 10, the wife, mother, and three sisters of Mr. Seok, the freelance photographer detained in Yantai, will pay a protest visit at the Chinese Embassy. On Feb. 16/23, about 50 expatriates friends of Mr. Seok, mostly Canadians in Taegu, will go to Seoul to stage a protest rally in support of their friend;
2. Tokyo: On Feb. 13, Mr. Kato Hiroshi, Life Fund for North Korea, will hold a press conference for the two wives of South Koreans detained in Yantai, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club. The next day, Feb. 14, Tokyo will resume the protest rally at the Chinese Embassy. (On Jan. 29, they had one led by RENK.);
3. LA; In front of the Chinese Consulate on Feb. 16 between 4:30-6:30 PM, and every Sunday aftn thereafter;
4. Vancouver: Same as LA;
5. London: On or about Feb. 16, led by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, London;
6. Hong Kong: On or about Feb. 16, led by Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Hong Kong;
7. Prague: Early March in front of the Chinese Embassy, in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Conference on North Korean Human Rights and Refugees in Prague, co-hosted by Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights and Refugees (a Korean NGO) and the People In Need (a Czech NGO); and
8. Osaka, New York, Washington, Paris: TBD
"North Koreans' Exodus and the future of the Korean Peninsula":
January 14, 2003
TONIGHT'S FOCUS: In the swirl of news about nuclear arsenals and geopolitical strategies, the littlest victims of the North Korea situation often get overlooked. Remember: North Korea is a country in which two million of its citizens reportedly died of starvation since the mid-90's. Tonight we revisit a group of North Korean children who fled their homeland in search of survival. It is a remarkable and rare insight into one of the most difficult stories to report in the world.
----
Last year, President Bush listed North Korea alongside Iraq and Iran as part of the "axis of evil." And today, tensions are mounting as the Bush Administration considers delicate diplomatic options in light of North Korea's apparent ramping up of its nuclear capabilities. But even as we know very little about Iraq and Iran's weapon-making capabilities or support of international terrorism, we know even less about North Korea. It is arguably the most mysterious, closed country in the world.
But we know one thing. The North Korean regime is willing to build up its military at the expense of its own people. Some two million North Koreans are estimated to have starved to death over the last decade. Those numbers have included men, women and children.
Korean American filmmaker Kim Jung-Eun has taken great risk to document the day-to-day struggles of several of the untold number of Koreans who flee this fate and escape into China. Many of those who make the treacherous journey out of North Korea are children. Some leave their families behind, often separated forever. The perilous escape is often matched by the horrors of living in the shadows of Chinese society, surviving in any way possible.
At an age when most children are playing and studying, the boys and girls you will meet tonight are simply trying to survive. Kim Jung-Eun first introduced us to these young people last year as part of our series "Hidden Lives." Since that first broadcast, we have received many emails and phone calls from viewers who want to help these children and find out more about their fate. Tonight we will bring you an update - and a window into a rarely reported story.
We hope you'll join us. It's a story you won't forget.
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
Sara Just and the Nightline Staff Nightline Offices Washington, D.C.
"North Koreans' Exodus and the future of the Korean Peninsula":
Friday, December 6, 7 PM (Korean only)-- The Great
Vision (Chung Woon) Church, 433 S. Normandie Ave., Los
Angeles, main speakers, NK refugee activist Chun
Ki-Won and ex-NK refugee Yoo Sang-jun (read about them
in LA Times copied below)Friday, December 13, 7 PM (Korean only)-- Union
Evangelical Church, 710 N. Lark Ellen Ave., West
Covina, main speakers, NK refugee activist Chun Ki-Won
and ex-NK refugee Yoo Sang-junSaturday, December 7, 7 PM (English with Korean
interpretation)-- The Great Vision (Chung Woon)
Church, 433 S. Normandie Ave., Los Angeles, main
speaker Norbert Vollertsen (the German doctor who
turned NK refugee and NK human rights activist after
getting kicked out of NK. read more about him in
www.chosunjournal.com)Please direct any question to Douglas Shin (562)
402-8111, 458-5744.
Protest Rally: Save North Korean Refugees
Rev. Dr. You Chun Chong, President, Human Rights Coalition for North Korean Refugees, cordially invites all who care about the inhumane treatment of the North Korean refugees in China to attend this peaceful demonstration to ask China to stop sending these refugees back to North Korea where they face prison and death and to allow UNHCR access to the North Korea-China border.
When: Tuesday, December 3, 2002, 12-1:30 pm
Where: Embassy of People's Republic of China, 2300 Connecticut Avenue, NW. Washington, D.C.
Speakers: Reverend Dr. You Chun Chong, Protest Organizer and Chairman, Human Rights Coalition to Save North Korean Refugees
Suzanne Scholte
President
Defense Forum FoundationJack Rendler, Executive Director
Aurora FoundationAnn Buwalda, Esq., Director
Jubilee Campaign-USAJulie Gunlock, Deputy Defense and Foreign Policy Analyst
House Republican Policy CommitteeDebra Liang-Fenton, Executive Director, US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
Jana Mason, Asia Policy Analyst
U.S. Committee for RefugeesTim Peters, Founder/Director
Helping Hands KoreaYu Sang Jin, refugee and defector
Pastor Chun Ki Won, Director
Durihana MissionKim Sang Hun, Coalition for Human Rights of Abductees and North Korean Refugees (CHNK)
Rev. Kim, Yoon Kuk
Former Chairman
The Conference of Youngnak ChurchRev. Ahn, Kye Soo
Chairman
Council of Korean Church of MarylandRev. Kim, John
Chairman, Korean American Clergy Association of MarylandRev. Lee, Suk Hae
Chairman
Korean American Clergy Association of Washington, D.C.Suh, Byung Seon
Chairman
The New York Art Song Association(partial listing of speakers)
For more information:
(English) Sin U Nam 732-636-4800
email: snam@nkparchitects.com(Korean) Rev. You 410-579-1181
email: chunyou77@hanmail.net
AEI: The North Korean Refugee Crisis
Monday, December 2, 9:00 a.m. - noon.
Wohlstetter Conference Center, Twelfth Floor, AEINorth Korea is a nation on the verge of the abyss‒hundreds of thousands risk starvation and death. As a result, North Koreans are fleeing their totalitarian state
in unprecedented numbers. In 2001, an estimated 300,000 North Koreans left their country to seek unsure safety in China. Despite the obvious desperation of the thousands of North Korean men, women, and children, the international community has reacted cautiously. China has been reluctant to pass North Koreans through to South Korea. For those remaining at home, relief has been uncertain as donors debate whether food and medical aid will reach their intended target or go instead to the Kim Jung Il military.Can North Korea be reformed? From what political and economic conditions are the refugees running? Can China be persuaded to accept refugees? Please join AEI for a conference on the crisis in North Korea.
8:45 a.m. Registration
9:00 Introduction: Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kans.)
Panel I:
Experiences in North Korea
Panelists:
Yu Sang Jun, recent asylum seeker
Young Hwa-Choi, recent asylum seeker
Pastor Chun-Ki Won, missionary imprisoned by the Chinese
Tim Peters, Helping Hands/Korea
Moderator:Suzanne Scholte, Defense Forum Foundation
10:15 Break
10:30 Panel II: Policy in North Korea
Panelists:
Nicholas Eberstadt, AEI
Jack Rendler (invited), Human Rights in North Korea
Norbert Vollertsen, physican based in North Korea
Gene Dewey (invited), Bureau of Population, Refugees, and MigrationModerator:
James R. Lilley, AEI
Pastor Chun Ki-Won
National Press Club "Afternoon Newsmaker" News Conference
Tuesday, November 12, 2002, 4 P.M.
National Press Club (Murrow Room)
528 14th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20046
Pastor Chun Ki-Won is part of the underground railroad for N. Korean refugees. He was arrested by Chinese authorities for trafficking and was detained for one week before being released to S. Korea.
Quebec TV Documentary Specials
Public television channel Télé-Québec is dedicating one special evening to North Korea, here is the line-up.
Thursday, October 17th 2002
20:00: Les Grands Documentaires: Bienvenue en Corée du Nord "Welcome To North Korea"
Six years were needed before a small team of Dutch television journalists was granted access into North Korea. Deprived of their passports and flanked by official guides, they were able to visit the country, observe the evasive looks of North Koreans, see the repression, the misery and the submission of a people still under the yoke of its beloved Leader, Kim Il Sung, dead in 1994. Filmed under constant surveilance, this documentary shows, beyond impostorness [excuse the mis-translation], the brutal reality of the People's Republic of Korea. Won best documentary award at the 2001 International Emmys. Repeat Saturday 16:00.
21:00: Points Chauds - La Corée du Nord: un même pays, deux images "Hot Topics - North Korea: One same country, two images"
International actuality magazine (special edition)
To George Bush, North Korea is part of the Axis of Evil because it is thought as attempting to acquire nuclear heads which would reach North America. To South Koreans, North Korea is the unexpectable enemy which keeps 700000 armed soldiers on the border between the two countries.
Inside North Korea, the picture is totally different. Ruined by 50 years of "self-relying" socialism, the coutry lives in a neverending state of famine. In the countryside, children no longer attend school but look for lichens and [tree] barks.
The link between both images? Kim Jong-Il, heir of the world's sold communit monarchy, self-proclaimed lighthouse of humanity, and blackmailer who is said to use the threat of weapons only to finance his bankrupt regime...
Guests: Mathieu Perreault, from Montréal's La Presse daily newspaper, one of the rare Canadian journalists who have ever been in North Korea; Sam Noumoff, political science professor at McGill University; Bernard Olivier, history professor at the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf; François-Philippe Dubé, political sciences student at the UQAM and specialist of Korean economy.
Repeat, Saturday at 14:00 and Wednesday October 23th at 10:00.
Courtesy of Jonathan Gagnon
CWA's 2002 National Convention
CWA´s 2002 National Convention
Sept. 20 - 21,2002
Capitol Hilton
Washington D.C.
Saturday evening, September 21, 2002 :Evening Banquet featuring invited guests Sen. Jesse
Helms and Majority Leader Dick Armey. Norbert
Vollertsen reports on community oppression in North
Korea : "Human Rights in North Korea" and additional
video show on the situation in North Korea.It has been decided that Concerned Woman for America
2002 National Convention Special Project Funds will be
collected for Helping Hands Korea - North Korean
Refugee Assistance ( Director and Founder Tim Peters).Invited speakers : Attorny General John Ashcroft;
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay; President George Bush;
Vice President Dick Cheney; Dr. Kelly Hollowell;
Michael Johnston; Linda Harvey a.o.Norbert Vollertsen
Washington D.C.
Write a Letter for Arrested NK Refugees
August 31, 2002
Urgent appeal for South Korean
activist and North Korean refugees
arrested at Aug. 31 in ChinaYou can fax your letters to Ambassador Li Bin at (82-2-738-1077) to the Chinese Embassy in Seoul and email Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan at (webmaster@fmprc.gov.cn). We encourage all to write letters of appeal to voice your concern for the welfare of the defectors.
Provided by Norbert Vollertsen
His Excellency Ambassador, Embassy of the People`s
Republic of China in USA, Germany, Japan a.s.o. :Dear Mr. Ambassador,
I wish to express my grave concern over a group of 11
North Korean defectors, 5 women, 5 men and a 15
years old boy, who were arrested by the Chinese
authorities near the railway station in Changchun,
Jilin Province, at around 7 o´clock in the evening of
Saturday, August 31. They were on their way to Beijing
to submit requests for refugee status. Mr. Kim Hee
Tae, a well-known South Korean aid worker helping
Chinese, was with them at the time of the arrest and he was
also arrested. The group includes those who were
previously arrested and sent back to North Korea by
the Chinese authorities.After repatriation, they were subject to months of
detention at various centers in North Korea that can
only be described as atrocious. If they were to meet
the same fate again this time around, I have reasons
to believe that their lives will be placed in the
gravest jeopardy commensurate with the repeated
crime against the ºfatherland " in terms of their
Criminal Code, Article 47. Under the circumstance, it
must be indicated that their arrest is in clear
violation of the 1951 Convention, 1967 Protocol
Relating to the Status of Refugees and the Chinese
Constitution, Article 32, Paragraph 2.I am asking you to release them immediately and grant
them the due refugee status they deserve under
customary international law.
September 7, 2002
Project North Korea
Objective:
To Work as a Community to Raise Funds for North Korean Refugees in China
WHO is hosting this event?
Faith Community CRC
WHAT is this event?
Garage Sale
WHERE is this fundraiser taking place?
Orange Korean Church Parking Lot
643 W. Malvern Ave.
Fullerton, CA. 92832
WHEN is this fundraiser?
Saturday, September 7th, 2002
7:00am-3:00pm
WHY are we doing this?
There are over 250,000 persecuted North Korean refugees living in China. All proceeds will go to non-profit organizations that aid to bringing immediate physical relief to North Korean refugees
HOW can you help?
1.) By donating personal items to be sold at the garage sale
* Please label & drop off donations
at Orange Korean Church at any of
the following times:
* Fridays 5-9 pm * * Saturdays 8am-12pm *
* Sundays 1-4pm *
(For FCCRC members, you may also drop
off donations in front of Julie Bai´s house)
2.) By donating used CD´s (to resell @ local stores to raise additional funds)
3.) By volunteering to help out w/ the event
4.) By spreading the word & encouraging people to donate & show up to garage sale
For more information on this event or to volunteer to help out, please contact
Julie Bai at: juliebaister@yahoo.com
If you are interested in donating financially or have
any related questions, please contact David Cho at: dcho113@ucla.edu
To read about the plight of North Korea & for more detailed
information on non-profit organizations aiding North Korea,
please visit the website: Chosunjournal.com
Attend South Korean Hearing on NK Refugees
September 3, 2002
The Security and Unification Forum of the South Korean National Assembly cohosts with the Civil Coalition for Human Rights of the North Korean Abductees and Refugees a Public Hearing for North Korean refugee issues:
1. Time and place: September 3, 2002 at 2:00 pm at the Small Conference Hall of the Assembly Members' Office Building (Euiwon Hoeguan) at SK National Assembly, Yoido, Seoul
2. Participants: SK National Assembly and Japanese Diet members (and possibly some delegates from the US Congress), SK and Japanese NGOs helping NK refugees, Ambassadors from the US, Japan, and/or Russia, and KIM HAN-MEE AND THE SHENYANG FIVE (The most famous NK refugee family of the year)
3. Translation provided for the KIM HAN-MEE FAMILY's testimonies and part of other proceedings. For further information, please call Mr. LEE Kyung-Tae at the office of Rep. CHO Woong-Kyu, Vice Chairman, Unification, Foreign Affairs & Trade Committee.
(Tel) +82-2-788-2491,
(Fax) +82-2-788-3217,
(Mobile) +82-17-273-7171
Inquiries in English, please use email: visionkt@chol.com
Douglas Shin, Norbert Vollertsen and many others
Write a Letter for the NK Defectors on the Verge of Repatriation
August 14, 2002
The following is the letter of appeal written by NKHR and sent to Tang Jiaxuan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and to Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, Li Bin, in protest for the incident of North Korean defectors arrested by Chinese police on their way to Mongolia and being on the verge of repatriation to N. Korea.
We urge you to write a letter of appeal to ask for the Chinese authorities not to be involved in repatriating these 10 North Koreans back to North Korea.
You can fax your letters to Ambassador Li Bin at (82-2-738-1077) to the Chinese Embassy in Seoul and email Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan at (webmaster@fmprc.gov.cn). We encourage all to write letters of appeal to voice your concern for the welfare of the defectors.
Your Excellency,
First of all, we would like to extend our gratitude for the recent decision of the Chinese government to release Durihana Church missionary Cheon Ki-won earlier this month.
However, we cannot help but ask for your government´s further efforts in consistent dealings with the North Korean people, especially after we made a similar appeal on June 28, 2002. We have recently been informed that your government will deport the ten North Koreans arrested by Chinese police on December 29, 2001.
The ten North Koreans were originally a group of twelve people fleeing into Mongolia when they were arrested along with Mr. Cheon. Since then, a couple, a pregnant women and her husband, have been deported to North Korea.
We strongly urge your government not to repatriate these ten North Koreans back to North Korea, since they will be killed after arrival in the North because of the contacts they have had with media representatives and consequent publicity. In addition, as we mentioned in our previous letter, two members of the group, Mr. Yu Young-il (36) and Mr. Jong Jae-song (37), have family in South Korea. They are at this moment nervously hoping for a breakthrough, dreaming of the day of being reunited with their beloved families. Among the those detained in the Inner Mongolia prison are:
Yu Mi-hwa (42) - Mr. Yu´s older sister
Han Sui-hee (18) - Mr. Yu´s niece
Noh Myung-ok (37) - Mr. Jong´s wife
Yoon Mee (12) - Mr. Jong´s daughter
Yoon Chul (10) - Mr. Jong´s son
It is again within your power to stop the flowing tears and desperate sighs of these people by fully abiding by the international humanitarian laws. The international community is closely watching your government.
Thank you very much for your kind consideration of this matter..
Yours Sincerely,
Soon Ok Lee
On August 17, 2002, at 7:30pm, Ms. Soon Ok Lee, author of "Eyes of the Tailless Monkeys," will be speaking about her experience in a N. Korean gulag at the Lamb's theater (130 W. 44th street between Broadway and 6th ave.). Forward flyer to your acquaintances.
Watch MBC Special on NK Refugees
On July 28, 2002, MBC in S. Korea broadcast a special on NK refugees. It contains gripping interviews with victims of sex trafficking, orphans, refugees in hiding, and rescue workers. You'll need to register (ID:"unifica" PW:"cjfriends") and be able to understand Korean to understand it online at http://www.imbc.com/tv/culture/dspecial/review.html
Protest against China's treatment of NK refugees
Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan will visit Seoul Aug. 2-3 for talks with his Korean counterpart Choi Sung-hong.
Write a Letter of Thanks to Sen. Brownback and Sen. Kennedy, 6/26/02
Sen. Brownback along with Sen. Kennedy recently held a hearing on the N. Korean refugees' plight in China. They deserve our appreciation and encouragement. Sen. Brownback was also on Nightline last night and helped bring even more needed public awareness.
[Urgent!] Write a Letter for the NK Defector Dragged Away(2002-06-14)
The following is the letter of appeal written by NKHR and sent to Tang Jiaxuan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and to Chinese Ambassador to South Korea, Li Bin, in protest for the incident of North Korean defector dragged away from the South Korean consulate in Beijing on Thursday, 13 June 2002.
We urge you to write a letter of appeal to ask for the Chinese authorities not to repatriate the man who was dragged out of the South Korean consulate by the Chinese police after the scuffles with South Koreasn diplomats as can be seen in the photo.
You can fax your letters to Ambassador Li Bin at (82-2-738-1077) to the Chinese Embassy in Seoul and email Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan at (webmaster@fmprc.gov.cn). We encourage all to write letters of appeal to voice your concern for the welfare of the defectors.
Date: June 14, 2002
Your Excellency,
Recent breaking news has informed us of the arrest of a North Korean asylum seeker by the Chinese police, who was dragged away from a South Korean consulate in Beijing on Thursday, June 13, 2002. To our shock, the Chinese police abused their power by not only intruding a foreign diplomatic office without a permission but also by doing violence to the South Korean diplomats trying to protect the North Korean defector. Such an intolerable way of handling the situation involving North Korean asylum seekers, which was not the first time, has created great concern among the international community for the fate of the man brutally taken away by the Chinese police as well as for the vivid sign of hardening stance of your government toward the North Korean asylum seekers.
This incident follows within one month of the North Korean seekers, who were dragged out of the Japanese consulate in Shenyang, which caused a diplomatic tension for a while. Thanks to the decisive action by the Chinese Government, they could be reunited with their family and safely arrive in South Korea via a third country. Following this incident, more asylum seeking attempts at the South Korean consulate in Beijing were made by a total of 18 North Korean defectors, now including the 18-year-old son of the man in the custody of the Chinese police. They deserve the same humanitarian treatment as others who have been given a safe passage out of China previously. In any circumstances, they should not be discriminated and sent back to North Korea for the sake of the short-sighted political concerns.
We fully understand that this issue of dealing with asylum seekers is very sensitive and need to be carefully approached under sufficient diplomatic consideration. Still, we strongly urge the Chinese government to continue to act in a humanitarian manner and respect the human dignity and human rights of the defectors by fully abiding by the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol to which China is a signatory. We are imploring to the Chinese authorities to proceed in this case with full uphold and respect for human rights and of acknowledgement of the opinion of the international human rights community, by allowing the 19 North Korean defectors both in the custody of the Chinese police and inside the South Korean consulate safe passage, in order for them to finally put an end to their exhaustive and precarious journey for life and freedom.
Sincerely,
Citizens¡¯ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights
APPEAL FOR IMPRISONED SOUTH KOREAN AND CHINESE ACTIVISTS AND TEN NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES
-All Media Invited-
SEOUL, DURIHANA MISSION:
BACKGROUND: Three South Koreans and one Chinese citizen of Korean ancestry were attempting to help 12 North Korean refugees cross the border from China to Mongolia. The four have been imprisoned in Hilar, inner Mongolia. Two of the 12 North Korean refugees have been repatriated to North Korea in violation of the 1951 international convention on refugees of which the People's Republic of China is a signatory. Ten still remain incarcerated near Manzhouri, Inner Mongolia.
The following report was received from a close associate of DFF who works with Helping Hands Korea, a non-governmental organization that has been providing humanitarian aid to North Korean refugees:
On the night and early morning of Dec. 29th/Dec. 30th, 2001 near the tiny border town of Dong-chi in the northeastern area of Inner Mongolia, PRC, a South Korean activist, Chun, Ki-Won (aged 45) was guiding 12 North Korean refugees. The group attempted to cross the China/ Mongolian border near Dong-chi. The Chinese border patrol intercepted the activists and refugees and detained them.
Being held are the following individuals:
Chun, Ki-Won (aged 45), a South Korean activist who was leading the group
Oh, Young-Phil (aged 32), a South Korean freelance video documentarist whose video features have often appeared on KBS TV
Jung, Jae-Song (aged 36), a former North Korean defector who is now a naturalized South Korean citizen
Jin Qi Lung (aged 27), a Korean-Chinese man who was assistingAt present, two of the four men remain imprisoned in the provincial capital of Hilar in Inner Mongolia (Oh and Jung were released in March, 2002) and will likely be charged with serious violations of Chinese national law (most likely, smuggling and/or espionage), although their actions have been purely humanitarian in nature. Multiple discreet attempts by the activist community based in Seoul to release these men have so far failed. Until now, no visitor has been allowed to check on the conditions of the prisoners. Efforts to release the activists (including ransom) have been carried out quietly and through unofficial channels. Because quiet efforts including entreaties to the ROK Foreign Ministry in Seoul and the ROK Embassy in Beijing to intercede on their behalf have failed, a more vocal campaign is urgently needed.
SUGGESTED ACTION: Please inquire about these four individuals by writing to the following:
1) Cho Yong-Chun, Chief of Section, Division of Northeast Asia, Section 2, South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Fax: 82-2-723-0645; Tel: 82-2-720-2350)
2) Kim Ha-Joong, Republic of Korea Ambassador to China, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Beijing. (Fax: 86-10-6532-0141; Tel: 86-10-6532-0290.
3) Tang Jiaxuan, Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the People's Republic of China, Beijing (Fax: 86-10-65962660 Tel: 86-10-65961138.These letters will surely help give both the South Korean and Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affairs a greater sense of urgency about the welfare of the two remaining imprisoned activists as well as the 10 refugees and make it clear to both South Korea and China that a much wider audience is concerned about the welfare of these individuals and is monitoring the situation.
For further information, contact, tapkorea@unitel.co.kr or Suzanne Scholte, Defense Forum Foundation, at 703-534-4313.
Appeal to the PRC
May 9, 2002 - Seven people tried to barge into consulates in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang today, the latest in a string of attempts by desperate North Koreans to gain political asylum by taking refuge in Western diplomatic compounds in China.
Please consider using the following appeal made by some U.S. Congressmen (to whom we should also send a letter of support and thanks). Your letter of appeal can be emailed to Ambassador Yang Jiechi in Washington DC at (chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov)
May 9, 2002
His Excellency Yang Jiechi
Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
2300 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20008Dear Mr. Ambassador:
We are writing to make a humanitarian appeal on behalf of the North Koreans who recently have been detained after they attempted to seek asylum at foreign diplomatic compounds inside China. We strongly urge your Government not to forcibly return any of them to North Korea, where they would face certain danger.
Those individuals include five members of the Kim Han-mee family who were detained on or near the grounds of the Japanese Consulate in Shenyang yesterday, and three North Koreans who were detained when they attempted to enter the South Korean Embassy in Beijing on April 29th. We trust that the two North Korean individuals currently inside the U.S. Consulate in Shenyang will be allowed to transit to a third country.
We fully recognize China's right to secure its borders and the sensitivity posed by migrant issues in the northeast of your country. But those issues must be differentiated from the obligation not to repatriate people who face a well-founded fear of persecution, an obligation that both of our countries share as parties to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.
In our view, forcibly returning to North Korea any of the family members listed above would be a human tragedy and a violation of the Refugee Convention. Although North Korea's treatment of mere food migrants may have eased since the mid-1990s, its treatment of North Koreans attempting to escape to third countries remains severe and is usually fatal. Notwithstanding North Korean assurances, such returnees are usually executed or sent to camps for political prisoners. We understand that one of the women detained outside the South Korean Embassy is pregnant. We have seen the photos of the Kim family at the Japanese Consulate, where the mother is carrying her two-year-old daughter. We also understand that the Kim family has requested the opportunity to seek asylum in the United States.
We appeal to the Government of China to allow some form of humanitarian accommodation for these people, and urge you not to contravene the treaty obligations that both of our nations share as prominent members of the international community. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
HENRY J. HYDE, Chairman
TOM LANTOS, Ranking Member
JAMES A. LEACH, Chairman, Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific
Letter of Appeal to the People's Republic of China
A letter of appeal for the 3 arrested North Korean defectors was faxed to Ambassador Li Bin at (02-738-1077) to the Chinese Embassy in Seoul and emailed to the Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan at (webmaster@fmprc.gov.cn) on April 30, 2002. We encourage others to also write letters of appeal to voice their public opinions for the welfare of the 3 defectors. The following are the contents of the letter sent to the representatives of the Chinese government.
Dear Minister Tang Jiaxuan and Ambassador Li Bin,
First of all, we would like to express our appreciation for the previous actions of the Chinese government in not deporting the North Korean defectors who sought asylum within your country.
Recent breaking news has informed us of the arrest of three North Korean defectors by the Chinese police, who were in the process of attempting to enter the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, China on April 29th, 2002. According to the latest sources, forced deportation of these defectors is highly likely at this time if the Chinese government determines to abide by the China-North Korean agreement, which stipulates forced deportation of illegal migrants from North Korea.
This incident follows within six weeks of the 25 North Koreans, who barged into the Spanish Embassy in Beijing and requested passage to South Korea. Thanks to the immediate action by the Chinese Government, they safely arrived in South Korea via the Philippines. Following this incident, more asylum seeking attempts at the German and U.S. Embassies in Beijing were made by a total of three North Korean defectors. All three individuals went through smooth diplomatic negotiations and recently arrived in Seoul. The increasing asylum requests at Western foreign missions based in Beijing have contributed to raising international recognition and interest in the North Korean defector issue as well as placing a spotlight for discussion and possible future actions. Concurrently, we have also heard of the increased surveillance and monitoring of Chinese-Koreans, humanitarian aid organizations, suspicious individuals, and missionaries in China.
We fully understand that this issue of dealing with asylum seekers is very sensitive and need to be carefully approached under sufficient diplomatic consideration. We strongly urge the Chinese government to act in a humanitarian manner and respect the human dignity and human rights of the defectors by allowing them safe passage to another country for refuge and not deport them to North Korea. In conjunction with the South Korean government´s petition to the Chinese government for lenient treatment for the three defectors under arrest, we are imploring to the Chinese authorities to proceed in this case with full uphold and respect for human rights and of acknowledgement of the opinion of the international human rights community.
Protest Rally at Seoul
The Commission to Help North Korean Refugees
(CNKR):Mass demonstration of North Korean defectors at the
Chinese embassy in SeoulThe protest demonstration against the hunt,
repatriation and denial of North Korean refugee statusDate and time :
March 25, Monday
1:00 PM - 2:30 PMLocation :
In front of the Shinsaegae Department Store,
Chung Ku, Myong Dong, Seoul, Korea
(Across the Embassy of the People`s Republic
of China in Korea)Host Organization :
The Commission to Help North Korean Refugees ( CNKR,
Secretary General Kim Sang-Chul) in collaboration with
civil organizations of North Korean defectors and
supporting groupsNumber of attendance ;
Several hundred member of local and international
NGO`s including 100 North Korean defectors who are now
living in South KoreaCatch-phrases :
1. To suspend the search immediately, and stop the
arrest of North korean defectors and forced
repatriation2. To allow UNHCR to investigate the reality of North
Korean defectors in the northeastern provinces of
China3. To accept their refugee status application and to
verify their refugee status legally together with
UNHCR4. To institute an boycott against the 2008 Olympic
Games in Beijing/ChinaFor further information please contact :
Tel : (82-2) 765-1503
(Office at the Christian Council of Korea, staff Moon
Hee Hyul)Tel : (82-2) 564-3181
(Office of CNKR Secretary General Kim Sang-Chul, staff
Kim Sun Mi)e-mail : kafskim@netsgo.com
Web site : www.nk-refugees.or.kr
Protest Against Renewed Chinese Crackdown
Since the unprecedented escape by 25 N. Korean refugees on March 14, 2002, the Chinese government has renewed its harsh crackdown of N. Korean refugees particularly on the Chinese-N. Korea border. Please write/call/fax the Chinese government to protest the crackdown. A sample letter is provided below.
Contact info for China:
UN High commissioner for refugees in China
1-2-1, Tayan Diplomatic Office, Building, No. 14,
Liangmahe Nanlu, Beijing 100600, People's Republic of China.
Email: chibe@unhcr.ch
Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations
350 East 35th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016 U.S.A.
Telephone: (212) 655-6100
Telefax: (212) 634-7626
Email: china@un.int
Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
Fax: (202) 588-0032
Email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
Chinese Embassy in South Korea.
Fax: 82-2-319-5103
Appeal to Mr. Jiang Zemin,
President, People`s Republic of China,
Beijing, ChinaYour Excellency
We have been informed by news media and other reliable sources that your local authorities have begun extremely harsh crackdowns on North Korean defectors, South Korean NGOs and Christian groups. Yet unconfirmed information are talking about 150 North Korean agents, some of them even in NK uniforms, who are arresting several hundrets of North Korean defectors with assistance of Chinese police.
Your local officials have reportedly declared that the new wave of crackdown is in defiance of international community and also in anger against the 25 North Koreans who entered the Spanish Embassy last week in pursuit of their status of refugees.
North Koreans who are driven by hunger and oppression to defect are, virtually without exception, persecuted when they are sent back to North Korea. There are hundreds of thousands of victims and an abundance of testimonies, independent and verified, which make this assertion undeniable. It is this compelling evidence that convinces us that North Korean defectors absolutely qualify as refugees.
We solemnly accuse North Korea of manifold atrocities against its own people when it persecutes the defectors. At the same time we wish to indicate to you that your unconditional repatriation of North Korean defectors into the hands of their brutal persecuters in North Korea will make Your Excellency party to such crimes.
We implore you to stop the crackdown immediately in light of conventional international law and practice.
Your Excellency, we implore you to halt the human tragedies that are now taking place in plain view on Chinese soil. Please, Your Excellency, extend to North Korean defectors the due treatment they deserve as refugees under customary international law on the right side of history.
Your wise reconsideration of the Chinese policy of forcible repatriation of North Korean defectors to North Korea will surely be heralded as a Chinese victory for the sake of humanity and justice.
We are international human rights volunteers of several nationalities and we are laboring together to bring help to the helpless, the North Korean defectors.
Norbert Vollertsen
Seoul
March 20, 2002
Appeal for 25 N. Koreans Seeking Asylum
Twenty North Korean individuals were reported in running past two armed Chinese guards in front of the Spanish embassy seeking asylum. Men, women and youngsters ran through the embassys front gate and briefly struggled with the guards. Within minutes, dozens of armed green-uniformed Chinese guards converged on the compound, however Spanish diplomats came out of the embassy building, talked to some of the guards, and then followed the asylum-seekers into the building. They have threatened to commit suicide by poisoning if the Chinese authorities repatriate them back to North Korea where they will encounter persecution, torture and possibly death.
Furthermore, we are urgently requesting all of our subscribers to make contact with the following diplomats to either pressure or persuade them not to repatriate the North Korean defectors. In addition, please send emails and faxes to your respective Spanish embassies within your own country.
UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees)
Contact can be made through their the following websiteMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Peoples Republic of China
Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan
webmaster@FMPRC.gov.cnMinistry of Foreign Affairs in Spain
Foreign Minister Josep Pique Camps
Email not provided
Appeal for imprisoned S. Korean activists in China
4 INDIVIDUALS IMPRISONED IN CHINA FOR HELPING NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES
BACKGROUND: Three South Koreans and one Chinese citizen of Korean ancestry were attempting to help 15 North Korean refugees cross the border from China to Mongolia. The four have been imprisoned in Hailar, China. The 15 North Korean refugees have been repatriated to North Korea in violation of the 1951 international convention on refugees of which the People's Republic of China is a signatory.
The following report was received from a close associate of DFF who works with Helping Hands Korea, a non-governmental organization that has been providing humanitarian aid to North Korean refugees: On the night and early morning of Dec. 29th/Dec. 30th, 2001 near the tiny border town of Dongchi in the northeastern area of Inner Mongolia, PRC, a South Korean activist, Chun Ki Won (aged 45) was guiding 15 North Korean refugees. The group attempted to cross the China/ Mongolian border near the village of Dong-chi. The Chinese border patrol intercepted the activists and refugees and detained them.
Being held are the following individuals:
Chun Ki Won (aged 45), a South Korean activist who was leading the group: Oh Young Phil (aged 32), a South Korean freelance video documentarist whose video features have often appeared on KBS TV. Jung Jae Seong (aged 36), a former North Korean defector who is now a naturalized South Korean citizen Jin Qi Lung (aged 27), a Chinese-Korean man who was assistingAt present, these four men are being imprisoned in the provincial capital of Hailar in Inner Mongolia and will likely be charged with serious violations of Chinese national law (most likely, smuggling and/or espionage), though they have committed no crime. Multiple discreet attempts by the activist community based in Seoul to release these 4 men have so far failed. For this two month period, no visitor has been allowed to check on the conditions of the prisoners. Efforts to release the activists (including ransom) have been carried out quietly and through unofficial channels. Because quiet efforts including entreaties to the ROK Foreign Ministry in Seoul and the ROK Embassy in Beijing to intercede on their behalf have failed, a more vocal campaign is needed.
SUGGESTED ACTION: Please inquire about these four individuals by writing to the following:
1) Cho Yong-Chun, Chief of Section, Division of Northeast Asia, Section 2, South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Fax: 82-2-723-0645;Tel:82-2-720-2350)
2) Kim Ha-Joong, Republic of Korea Ambassador to China, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Beijing. (Fax: 86-10-6532-0141; Tel: 86-10-6532-0290.
3) Tang Jiaxuan, Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the People's Republic of China, Beijing (Fax: 86-10-65962660 Tel:86-10-65961138.
These letters will help give the South Korean ministry a greater sense of urgency about the welfare of the four and make it clear to both South Korea and China that a much wider audience is concerned about the welfare of these four individuals and is monitoring the situation.
SK activisits recommend that it is better not to mention the 15 refugees in conjunction with any letters that are sent regarding the status of the 4 being held in China.
For further information, contact, hlphands@korea.com or Suzanne Scholte, Defense Forum Foundation, at 703-534-4313.
Call/Write President and Congress
Thank President Bush for his strong, moral stand in designating North Korea a part of the Axis of Evil. You can write him at The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500. Or e- mail him at president@whitehouse.gov
Call your congressman and ask that Congress hold hearings on North Korea's horrific human rights abuses. The Capitol switchboard number is 202-224- 3121. You can access the House directory here.
Helping Hands Korea
----- Original Message -----
From: tapkorea@unitel.co.kr
To: editor@chosunjournal.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2002 8:58 PM
Subject: Apple Computer Korea teams up with Helping Hands Korea!!I wanted to let you and your readers know of our current campaign & was wondering if you'd like to alert your readers, especially in Korea, of the final 7 days of a special promotion by Helping Hands Korea, Apple Computer Korea & 3 Alley Pub to raise funds to help North Korean refugees!
Apple Computer Korea & 3 Alley Pub Team up with Helping Hands Korea
How can you beat this? Do a good turn and help North. Korean refugees and get an excellent chance to win a Macintosh iBook! This special promotion will carry on until the 28th of January at the new 3 Alley Pub (tel. 749-3336) behind the Hamilton Hotel in the international Itaewon shopping district of Seoul. Alley Pub's owner, Gunter Kamp, has enthusiastically signed on with assistance to the North Korean refugees and for several months has been offering a small brass plaque printed with the name of every donor of W25,000 to Helping Hands Korea (the donation is made there at the Alley Pub and Gunter nails the plaques in a place of honor over the counter for all to see! . On the evening of January 28th at 8:30, all named brass plaques of donors to that time will be put into a single bowl and one name will be drawn.Thanks to Andrew Sedgwick, the head of Apple Computer Korea, the winner will receive one of the coveted new Macintosh iBook notebook computers.
Time is running short to get that W25,000 donation in at Alley Pub, help the refugees and have a very excellent chance to win a state-of-the-art notebook computer.Warm Regards and Thanks Again,
Tim
Korean Family Unification Act
December 13, 2001
Korean Family Unification bill has been introduced in the U.S. to address the concerns of 500,000 Korean-Americans with separated relatives in the North. Read news story. Please write to the sponsors of the bill (mentioned in the article) to show your support for the bill.
Ewha forum for global leaders
November 30, 2001
1:00-2:40PM
If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Oh (Tel: 3277-3629)
Mr. Tim Peters, founder of the NGO Helping Hands Korea, is also advisor and speechwriter for the International Division of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI). He will be addressing the 6th Ewha Forum in his capacity as the founder of both Helping Hands Korea and the Ton-a-Month Club. Helping Hands Korea is a Christian mission in Seoul that was founded in 1988. In October 1996 this grassroots initiative began gathering donations from concerned individuals to purchase desperately needed grain (rice, corn, millet, etc.) to supply famine-relief to the North Korean civilian population.
For the first three and a half years of the Ton-a-Month program, Peters concentrated on sending food to delivery points within North Korea itself in which transparency was guaranteed. However, as the number of North Korea refugees and “food escapees” has increased to hundreds of thousands in third countries, the focus of Helping Hands Korea has grown to encompass North Koreans who have risked life and limb to seek relief not only from hunger, but from a totalitarian society as well. An archive of resource material about this project can be found at: http://www.familycare.org/projects/asia/p01/p01.htm
Write to the Chinese government
China's president Jiang Zemin is visiting North Korea for a state visit for the first time in over a decade. Please take this opportunity to write to the Chinese authorities and request that China pressure N. Korea to reform its economy. The flood of N. Korean refugees flowing into China for the past five years is evidence that the N. Korean regime's economic system is broken and needs to be fixed through economic reforms like that of China.
Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations
350 East 35th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016 U.S.A.
Telephone: (212) 655-6100
Telefax: (212) 634-7626
Email: china@un.intChinese Embassy in Washington DC
Fax: (202) 588-0032
Email: chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
Write to the Russian government
As reported recently in The Times, North Korea is to repay loans worth billions of pounds to Russia by sending thousands of workers to toil in closed logging camps in eastern Siberia. Please write in protest to Russian officials.
To: His Excellency Yuri V. Ushakov
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
Address:
2650 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20007
Tel. (202) 298-5700/01/04
Fax (202) 298-5735
Support Congressmen Hyde and Cox's invitation to NK Defector Hwang Jang Yop
Pyongyang has lambasted the two Congressmen for inviting NK Defector Hwang Jang Yop to speak on NK human rights in the United States. Please email your support to the two representatives for trying to bring public attention to the abuses of Kim Jong Il's regime.
Email:
Rep. Christopher Cox (christopher.cox@mail.house.gov)
Rep. Henry Hyde (http://www.congress.org/congressorg/mail/?id=218&type=CO)
Protest Hwang's House Arrest
Under house arrest by the S. Korean government, N. Korea's highest ranking defector, Hwang Jang Yop, has been prevented from testifying before the US Congress regarding human rights abuses in N. Korea. Please write/fax/call/email the S. Korean consulate as well as US representatives to demand the release of Hwang Jang Yop to be allowed to testify in the U.S. and to the world about the prison-state.
Award-winning documentary on NK refugees
Kim Jong Eun's award-winning documentary, "Shadows and Whispers," will be shown this Friday, July 6th,at 7:30 p.m. in conjunction with a meeting with Helping Hands Korea on the 10th floor of the UNESCO Bldg. in Myong dong, Seoul and there will be a Q&A following. Everyone welcome. Donations to assist the refugees are very welcome!! Email tapkorea@unitel.co.kr for more info.
Advocate on behalf of 7 NK refugees in China
June 27 - Please consider emailing an urgent note of support to the UN high commissioner for refugees in China (chibe@unhcr.ch) for its protection of 7 NK refugees. Mailing address is: UNHCR, 1-2-1, Tayan Diplomatic Office, Building, No. 14, Liangmahe Nanlu, Beijing 100600, People's Republic of China.
Please also write to the Chinese authorities:
- cordially mention that you have heard/read about Jang Gil-su with his family who have fled to China.
- cordially recommend that China should not repatriate them to North Korea and should let them receive asylum.
- cordially recommend that China recognize the rights of North Korean refugees in its territory.
Your appeals to the Chinese authorities should be sent to:
- Permanent Representative of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations
350 East 35th Street, New York, N.Y. 10016 U.S.A.
Telephone: (212) 655-6100
Telefax: (212) 634-7626
- Permanent Representative of the PRC to UN
Chemin de Surville 11
Case postale 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2
Geneva, Switzerland
Telephone : 792 25 48 - 792 25 43 - 793 35 91
Telecopieur : 793 70 14
mission.china@itu.ch
- Permanent Mission of the PRC to UN
Geroldgasse 7
1170 Vienna, Austria
Telephone: 486 16 35
Telefax: 484 16 33
Chinese Embassy in Washington DC
Fax: (202) 588-0032
chinaembassy_us@fmprc.gov.cn
See cover story for further details.
Salsa Dance Party Benefit (Seoul), May 26, 2001
Salsa Party Charity Benefit is organized by Seoul's Pine Tree Women's Group and Dancing Duck Events, Inc. along with TIME Magazine's Seoul bureau chief, Donald MacIntyre. The event will be held in the Rotunda Restaurant in Itaewon on May 26th. You're bound to have a great time with all the dancing you can handle as well as a special Salsa demonstration and dance lesson. Proceeds from this event will support Ton-a-Month Club/Helping Hands Korea in helping North Korean refugees and the hungry within the hardest-hit areas of North Korea. We would love to see you there and look forward to a memorable evening with a lot of fun!
Advance ticket sales available at Saint-ex Restaurant, Itaewon (Tel. 795-2465) email: lesaintex@hotmail.com
Event: Seoul Salsa Shake-out
Location: Rotunda Restaurant (792-4123-4)
East end of Itaewon (Hangangjin Subway station line 6)Date/Time: May 26th, 8:30pm ~ 1:30 am
Ticket Price: Adult 25,000 won/Student 15,000 won; Raffle tickets 1,000 won each (All tickets include one free beverage!)
(2 FREE RAFFLE tickets with pre-purchase and redeemable at the door on the 26th! Top raffle prize gets discount on round-trip open KLM ticket Seoul-Europe-Seoul)
Cornerstone Ministries (Los Angeles) looking for volunteers
Cornerstone Ministries is looking for volunteers to do administrative work at its ministry office. If you are interested, please email Rev. Lee at www.bibles.org .
10th Washington North Korea Roundtable
The 2nd Annual Reconciliation Forum International
The 10th Washington North Korea RoundtableHosted by The Institute for Strategic Reconciliation, Inc.
http://www.ISR2020.orgJune 7 - 8, 2001
The Capitol, Washington, D.C.The Institute for Strategic Reconciliation (ISR), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, independent think tank, will hold the 2nd Reconciliation Forum International in the Capitol, Washington, D.C. as we celebrate the 10th Washington North Korea Roundtable. Forum and Roundtable both are the Meeting Place of all who are concerned about peace and reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula. (See http://www.ISR2020.org for details of the Washington North Korea Roundtable.)
Panels and papers to be presented in this 2-day forum where top thinkers on DPR Korea will be speaking will include:
Rehabilitation of Public Health Sector in DPRK
Challenges and Opportunities of Micro-credit Programs in DPRK
New Economic Policies of DPRK and Collaboration with International Financial Institutions
Opportunities of Enterprise Ventures in DPRK
Evaluation and Prospects of Reconciliation Initiatives between USA and DPRK
Understanding Negotiations with DPRK
MIAs from the Korean War
Families Separated between DPRK and USA
Approaches to Rehabilitating Energy Resources in DPRK
Public Opinion about and in DPRK
Help Wanted: Staff Researchers, Translators, Cartoonists, and HTML programmers
As a volunteer staff researcher, you would look through various internet resources related to North Korea and human rights to be made available through our site. This would be done on a daily basis, no more than 20 minutes a day.
As a volunteer cartoonist, you would draw caricatures (political, social) on current events.
As a volunteer HTML programmer, you would help edit the web site's look and add any features that would enhance the site's purposes.
As a volunteer staff translator, you would translate from Korean into English various petitions and correspondences on a periodic basis.
If you are interested in helping, please email editor@chosunjournal.com
May 9 - Please consider emailing an encouraging note to Sen. Jesse Helms, R-NC, who recently remarked on the human rights abuses in NK on the Senate Floor. See testimony
May 9 - Please consider emailing an encouraging note to Rep. Mark Kirk, R-Ill, who was recently quoted in a USA Today article for his efforts on raising awareness of NK human rights.
The New York Art Songs Association presents the third Benefit Song Concert for the North Korean Refugees, led by Tenor Byung Sun Soh and Pianist Hae Won Kim.
There are approximately 300,000 North Korean refugees in the areas around China who live in constant depravation and fear. These refugees have no food, shelter, identity or freedom. They live in fear of getting caught by the North Korean officers; or by the slave merchants. When captured, most women (including young girls) are sold to sex shops (much the same way comfort women were abused by the Japanese soldiers). A few missionary agencies in China have been working with these refugees with stretched means and resources.
The first successful benefit concert, held in March 25, 2000, raised $8,000 for the refugees. The third concert will be held this Sunday, April 29, 2001 7PM at Hyoshin Presbyterian Church and the tickets are $15/person.
Hyonshin Bible Presb. Church 42-15 166th Street Flushing, NY 11358 (718) 445-0379/ (718) 762-5756
The 2nd Annual Reconciliation Forum International
The 10th Washington North Korea Roundtable
Hosted by The Institute for Strategic Reconciliation, Inc.
http://www.ISR2020.org
June 7 - 8, 2001
The Capitol, Washington, D.C.
The Institute for Strategic Reconciliation (ISR), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, independent think tank, will hold the 2nd Reconciliation Forum International in the Capitol, Washington, D.C. as we celebrate the 10th Washington North Korea Roundtable. Forum and Roundtable both are the Meeting Place of all who are concerned about peace and reconciliation in the Korean Peninsula. (See http://www.ISR2020.org for details of the Washington North Korea Roundtable.)
The ISR seeks proposals for panels and papers to be presented in this 2-day forum where top thinkers on DPR Korea will be speaking. Among others, we welcome proposals on the following themes.
Rehabilitation of Public Health Sector in DPRK
Challenges and Opportunities of Micro-credit Programs in DPRK
New Economic Policies of DPRK and Collaboration with International Financial Institutions
Opportunities of Enterprise Ventures in DPRK
Evaluation and Prospects of Reconciliation Initiatives between USA and DPRK
Understanding Negotiations with DPRK
MIAs from the Korean War
Families Separated between DPRK and USA
Approaches to Rehabilitating Energy Resources in DPRK
Public Opinion about and in DPRK
The deadline for the abstract submissions is April 30, 2001. The final decision about the program will be made by early May. If your proposal is accepted we will expect the full text by May 18, 2001.
Your proposal should include an abstract describing the paper along with complete information on the authors (mailing address, e-mail and telephone number for each author). The abstract should not exceed 500 words.