One Man's Incredible Escape from a North Korean Prison Camp

April 24, 2012 from Channel 4 News

International Editor Lindsey Hilsum meets Shin Dong-hyuk, who for the first 23 years of his life knew nothing of life outside the walls of Camp 14, a gulag in North Korea. He didn't know the name of his own country's capital, who its leader was, or the fact the world was round. When the 13-year-old Shin heard his mother and brother plotting to escape he reported them; they were executed in front of his own eyes and then he was tortured for being an accomplice. Now he is telling the world his story, after he became the only person known to have escaped North Korea's brutal political internment camps.

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North Korea

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly called North Korea, is a country in East Asia, in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital is Pyongyang, the country's largest city by both land area and population. The Amnok River and the Tumen River form the ... Explore this topic

Kaechon internment camp

Kaechon internment camp is a slave labor camp in North Korea for political prisoners. The official name is Kwan-li-so No. 14. It is not to be confused with Kaechon concentration camp, which is located 20 km to the northwest. Explore this topic

Shin Dong-Hyuk

Shin Dong-hyuk is a North Korean defector living in South Korea. He is the only person known to have escaped from a "total-control zone" grade internment camp in North Korea and lived to tell about it. He is also the only person known to have been born in a North Korean prison... Explore this topic

Human Rights in North Korea

Human rights in North Korea are heavily restricted. Freedom of speech is forbidden, and the only radio, television, and news organizations that are deemed legal are those operated by the government. It is estimated that between 150,000 and 200,000 political prisoners are detai... Explore this topic

North Korean defectors

Since the division of Korea after World War II and the end of the Korean War, some North Koreans have managed to defect for political, ideological, religious and economic reasons. A prominent defection occurred shortly after the signing of the armistice at the end of the Korea... Explore this topic

Internment

Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and t... Explore this topic

Escape from Camp 14

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West is a book written by Blaine Harden. Explore this topic

Political prisoner

According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’. The term is used by persons or groups challenging the legitimacy of the detention of a p... Explore this topic

Blaine Harden

Blaine Harden is the author of Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West. Explore this topic

Pyongyang

Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255... Explore this topic

Also See

North Korea

Kaechon internment camp

Shin Dong-Hyuk

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