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The student led artistic activism collective, SAGE from Handong University in South Korea, has produced an exhibition on the horrific conditions within the North Korean political prison camp system "Where Love Does Not Exist." The imagery and descriptions of treatment within these camps is incredibly haunting, made even more so by the almost children's book style of illustrations depicting inhumane treatment of prisoners.
The exhibition catalog reads, in part, "This exhibition was organized by the students of Handong University, Pohang for the cause of informing the public about “the issue of human rights in North Korean political prison camps, from the eyes of the youth.” It is noteworthy as it poses a new model of North Korean human rights movement, characterized by its youthful expression. Im-Suk, Ha (a senior of Handong Global University’s Industrial Design major), who is in charge of the overall preparation, expressed her sense of expectancy, “We planned this exhibition believing that it was our responsibility and duty as a generation preparing for reunification and as youths who carry the identities of intellectuals, university students, South Korea, and the Korean peninsula at large. I hope that the exhibition will provide youths of the Republic of Korea with a newfound perspective regarding North Korea and an opportunity to empathize with them.”
The political prison camp is “a place of exile where those who pose threats to the system and their family members up to the third generation are persecuted in a complete isolation from society.” Upon arrival, the prisoners are coerced into harsh forced labor in mining and lumber camps and eventually meet their ends. Dong-Hyuk, Shin, who escaped from the 14th Gye-Chun political prison camp, testifies, 'In the camps, words likes love, happiness, joy, unhappiness, resentment, and resistance do not exist. Socialized with the bare minimum words and emotions to perform addition and subtraction, and to follow work instructions, we were bred under fists and cudgels.'"
We were fortunate enough to gain access to the entire presentation. To download a copy of the presentation Click here
or
Watch in video form here.
