“My life there was like living in a ‘prison without walls,’” North Korean defector Jo Eun-sil said in an interview with Rti. That was how Jo described her life in North Korea since freedom is severely restricted. She recounted the stringent controls over daily life, including forced labor for choices as simple as clothing or hairstyles.
Despite holding a college degree, Jo said she had no choice in her career, as the government dictates all job assignments and salaries. She criticized the regime's military-first policies, which resulted in meager wages—one month’s salary would barely cover the cost of a single bottle of soju, a distilled alcoholic beverage made from rice, forcing North Korean citizens to find other means of work to survive. She said when she left in 2019, it was not uncommon for one in ten people to die of starvation. This lack of autonomy and the hope for a better future ultimately compelled her to defect.
Jo’s story is one of over 60 accounts of North Korean defectors who share their experiences in a book published by Amnesty International Korea last year. The book titled “60+ Voices - Reflecting on Everyday Lives in North Korea” compiles personal accounts and details the human rights violations, including public executions, torture, imprisonment, and disappearances, that occur in the everyday lives of North Koreans. The Mandarin version of the book will be released next week through Amnesty International Taiwan.
Amnesty International Korea’s North Korea specialist Choi Jae-hoon who has over a decade of experience and interviewed more than 500 North Korean defectors, said while many believe there has been no change in North Korea, he has observed gradual shifts in policies over the past 20-30 years, including a decrease in the number of political prisoners, as the international community increasingly focuses on the country’s human rights conditions. He urged the public to support Amnesty International’s efforts, such as those being made for North Korea, to help address the lack of human rights protection.
written by Ching-en Chiou and Mary Anne Sioco