Sunday, December 18, 2011
Breaking News: Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s Oppressive Dictator, Reportedly Dead at 69
Reuters reports that Kim Jong Il died Saturday on a train trip. According to Bloomberg and South Korean News Reports, after Kim Jong Il suffered from a stroke in 2008, he may have contracted pancreatic cancer. Kim Jong Il’s son, Kim Jong Un, is believed to be in his late twenties.
Kim Jong Il is the son of Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s first dictator, who began to lead North Korea after the Korean peninsula was divided into North and South after the Korean War. Kim Jong Il came to power at his father’s death in 1994; his regime created the “world’s worst human rights crisis.” Over 2.5 million North Koreans were killed by Kim Jong Il’s government-orchestrated mass-starvation in the 1990s. Hunger continues in North Korea, despite international aid and global food surpluses. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have been held in concentration camps for disloyalty and dissent. Isolated and monitored for over 17 years, and forced to praise nationalist propaganda, the North Korean people are perhaps the most oppressed populace in the world.
With Kim Jong Il’s passing, the Korean peninsula faces grave uncertainty — from the North and from bordering China. A new leader presents an unknown for the international community. The changing of the guard, however, also creates potential opportunities for reunification, international engagement, and human rights advancements for the North Korean people. Will KimJong Il’s passing signify progress for the North Korean people and peace and reunification for the Korean peninsula?
For Bloomberg’s article, click here.
For CNN’s article, click here.
For BBC’s article, click here.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
North Korea Freedom Fest, a mini film festival focusing on North Korea human rights issues, will take place in Washington D.C., on April 25 and 26, 2011, at West End Cinema, 2301 M. Street ,NW. The film festival will feature screenings of Seoul Train, Kimjongilia, and Abduction.
Monday, March 14, 2011
The 8th Annual North Korea Freedom Week will take place in Seoul, South Korea this year from April 24th to April 30, 2011. To take advantage of the dramatic changes occurring inside North Korea and the change of attitudes in South Korea towards the human rights issues, the main events of North Korea Freedom Week will be held again in Seoul for the second year in a row. These events will include a major rally, hearings at the Korean National Assembly, a prayer vigil, a candlelight vigil, a protest at the Embassy of China, exhibits and conferences focusing on the gulag, the abductees and other human rights issues. The week will conclude with a balloon launch from the DMZ and a special festival to celebrate North Korean culture in anticipation of unification.
The tentative schedule, as of 03/11/2011, is below. Additional events will be added as scheduled. In coordination with North Korea Freedom Week’s events in Seoul, there will also be a mini-film festival in Washington, D.C., focusing on North Korea human rights issues as well as other events.
Sunday, April 24:
- Easter Sunday, NKFW participants attend Easter Services at North Korean defector churches in Seoul
Monday, April 25:
- Morning North Korea Freedom Week Press Conference
Host: North Korea Freedom Week Planning Committee and Co-Chair Dr. Hyunuk Kim, Kim Seung Min, Professor Yong Hee Lee and Ambassdor Jhe Seong Ho
- All Day Exhibition of Photos on the North Korean Gulag
host: Kim Tae Jin and Free the North Korean Gulag
- U.S. Delegation Meetings with South Korean government
Tuesday, April 26:
- Symposium at Myongji University on Future of and Human Rights in North Korea
host: Myongji University
- Evening Candlelight Vigil for Freedom of North Korea
host: North Korea People’s Liberation Front
Wednesday, April 27:
- Hearing at the Korean National Assembly on North Korea Women Issues
host: National Assemblyman Sangsu Ahn and Kang Sujin and the Coalition for North Korea Women’s Rights
- Hearing at the Korean National Assembly on Solving North Korea Human Rights Issues
host: Kim Yong-il and PSCORE
Thursday, April 28:
- North Korea Freedom Week Rally: Let Us Make 2011 the Year of North Korea’s Freedom
host: Dr. Hyunuk Kim and the International Security and Foreign Policy Forum
- Evening Musical Concert at the National Assembly
host: Esther Prayer Group and Assemblyman Hwang Woo Yea
Friday, April 29:
- Protest at the Chinese Embassy against Forced Repatriation of North Korean Refugees
host: Kim Seung Min and the North Korean defector organizations
- Evening NKFW 2011 All Nightwatch Prayer Vigil
Host: Professor Yong Hee Lee and the Esther Prayer Group
Saturday, April 30:
- Balloon Launch at the DMZ
host: Park Sang Hak and Fighters for a Free North Korea
- Evening Cultural Festival: Celebration of North Korea’s Culture and Prayer for North Korea’s Freedom
host: Pastor Lim Changho Lim and Pastor Kang Chul Ho and the North Korean Refugees Church Coalition
Events in Washington, DC.:
- A Mini Film Festival to focus on North Korea human rights will be hosted by Patty Kim and Chris Sheridan and the North Korea Freedom Coalition
- Monday, April 25:
- Evening screenings of Seoul Train at 6 pm and Kimjongilia Q&A 8pm which will include special panel discussions after each screening
- Tuesday, April 26:
- 7 pm Screening of Abduction
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Click here to watch LiNK’s video.
Click here to get involved and start a LiNK chapter.
Click here to learn about LiNK’s 100 Campaign.
And click here to learn more about LiNK.
From LiNK (Liberty in North Korea):
“LiNK Chapters are flexing their fundraising muscles like never before: this year’s goal is to raise enough money to rescue the final 46 refugees of TheHundred campaign.
Get ready for a year full of benefit concerts and bake sales – its a race to the finish line and there’s an exciting prize for the highest earners. The top fundraisers will be sending two of their members on a trip to South Korea! Chapters are competing for the chance to meet North Korean refugees, visit the DMZ, and learn about the North Korea crisis in the heart of the Korean peninsula.
Starting this February, the race is on!
Want to get in the game? Visit the LiNK Chapter website to enroll your chapter and learn more about the 2011 Chapter Campaign.”
