Happy birthday Jinhye..

congratulations on reaching the big 30 and thanks for helping the North Korean people.

Some facts about human rights in north Korea (or the lack of them)

There is some good information here and lots of links to follow up on

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_North_Korea

also i found this site where they float bulk flash drives over the DMZ in the hope that north Koreans will pick them up and look at the information making them aware that there is a better world outside their borders.

https://www.themaven.net/humanrightsfoundation/asia-pacific/helping-north-koreans-one-flash-drive-at-a-time-2PHxGEuBUEOHg1VBfaWxPA?full=1&full=1

A Youth Song Contest for the unification of Korea will be held in Korea.

A Youth Song Contest for the unification of Korea will be held in Korea.

This is a very meaningful event for Young Koreans to think of the Unification of Korea.
If I were in Korea, I wish I could participate in this event.

http://www.uni-contest.kr/

North Korean learned a lesson from the Unification of Vietnam in the wrong way.

North Korean learned a lesson from the Unification of Vietnam in the wrong way. North Korea wants to follow the exact same way how Vietnam was unified.

This is what happened in Vietnam. Vietnam and the USA held a peace talk in Paris in 1973. According to the peace talk, US Military left Vietnam.  After US Military left Vietnam, North Vietnam attacked South Vietnam.

Is this what North Korea wants?

This is impossible!

North Korean people will not follow Kim Jong Un just like the way how Vietnamese people followed Ho Chi Min. Many North Korean people do not respect Kim Jong Un even though he rules North Korea by horror.

http://news.bbsi.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=841668

The GDP of East Germany is only 73% of West Germany's GDP.

It has been 27 years since Germany was unified.
The GDP of East Germany is only 73% of West Germany's GDP.
The economic power of East Germany is still behind that of West Germany.

South Korea must be well prepared for the economic balance between North Korea and South Korea after the unification.

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2017/09/08/0200000000AKR20170908005500082.HTML?input=1195m

The first step toward Korea's unification is to change the mind of ordinary North Korean people.

The first step toward Korea's unification is to change the mind of ordinary North Korean people.

North Korean people must understand it is much better for them to live in the unified Korea. If they are afraid of the unified Korea and if they do not want the unified Korea, then the unification of Korea is getting more and more difficult.

http://www.futurekorea.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=42679

Found this site today..

An organization for Korean reunification

http://pscore.org

And here is their youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDTQrQf5rkHDuYSgL9Tko-Q

Prostitution now becoming more prominent in North Korea

This is sad to see and what makes it even worse is that drugs such as meth is mixed in with it as well.
the already abused population will have yet another problem to deal with.

These drugs are addictive and will ruin individuals and families.
People will take them to temporarily ease their pain but it will only make it worse in the long run.
as the article states, it is an unfortunate result of the growing marketization of the country.

http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=14698&cataId=nk01500

war on the horizon with North Korea or just more hot air

i came across this article today siting Martin Armstrongs economic and geopolitical models for the future.
his model suggests a confrontation with North Korea around september 11 this year (of all dates),
i'm still skeptical about this but it's possible since china appears to have left the door open.

http://www.newsweek.com/china-north-korea-preemptive-strike-649802

if it does happen, the good part will be the fall of the oppressive regime.
the bad part will be the inevitable  civilian casualties that will go along with a bombing campaign and the possible extermination of the people in the many gulags. particuarly in the political prison camps.
i wouldn't put it past the NK regime to do this since it would be damming evidence of human rights abuses. they would try to remove all traces if possible.

so. i'll just wait and see what happens in september. my guess is that nothing major will happen.
the regimes strategy is that as long as they have their nukes, there will be a standoff

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/forecaster-martin-armstrong-warns-of-war-in-september-we-must-be-on-guard-prime-period-where-a-confrontation-could-emerge_08292017

 

 https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/war/next-target-for-north-korea-sept-11th12th/ 

Rescuing North Korean refugees will advance the unification of Korea.

Rescuing North Korean refugees will advance the unification of Korea.
North Korean refugees will tell more about outside the world to their families and relatives still living in North Korea.

http://www.rfa.org/korean/weekly_program/woman_era/womenera-08102017104514.html

Unified Korea will be the best place to invest.

The unified Korea will be the best place to invest.
Many investors will be interested in the unified Korea.

http://www.ukoreanews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=5869

Are you interested in being a young volunteer writer for North Korean refugees and defectors in the USA?

I would like to introduce volunteer service opportunities for North Korean Refugees.

How to help North Korean refugees?

There are many ways to help North Korean refugees. I would love to suggest you to join the blogging community as a part of Social Media.

• Social Media

            - Blogging (This is what I recommend you to join)
            - Facebook
            - Twitter
            - Television news
            - Online newspaper

• Donate
• Host a fundraising event
• Work as a volunteer at non-profit-organizations for North Korean refugees
• Advocate
• Pray

NKinUSA in a non-profit organization, based in Washington, DC, which aims to help North Korean refugees escape safely from North Korea through China, assist with the resettlement of refugees currently living in the United States, and spread awareness about the persecution and severe human rights crisis of the North Korean people.

The main office of NKinUSA (North Korean refugees in the United States) is located in Washington DC, but it does not matter where you live because there are many things you can do for NKinUSA even if you are far away from Washington DC.

I also live in California, but I can do many things for North Korean refugees and defectors in the USA. I upload posts about roles and activities of NKinUSA for North Korean refugees once a week. I sometimes translate announcement for fundraiser to help North Korean refugees, because I can speak Korean. 

The name of NKinUSA stands for North Korean Refugees in the United States. NKinUSA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in September 2011 by a group of North Korean refugees re-settled in the U.S. and other individuals concerned about the human rights crisis in North Korea. 

NKinUSA is the first human rights organization established by North Korean defectors in the U.S.

The main three missions of NKinUSA are to raise awareness of the human rights crisis in North Korea, to help facilitate escape and safe passage for North Korean refugees, and to provide them with resettlement assistance in a third country, such as the United States. NKinUSA is committed to improving the human rights situation in North Korea and to bringing other North Koreans to freedom.

NKinUSA is also a member of President's Volunteer Service Award. NKinUSA will issue you "Volunteer Hour Certificate".

How to participate as a volunteer in the blogging community to help North Korean refugees 

1. Express your willing to participate in the volunteer service for North Korean refugees

   or human rights crisis in North Korea. 

   Send an email to me at usandnorth@gmail.com.

2. I will send the invitation email to you.

3. Accept the invitation email.

   In order to accept the invitation you must have a Google account, because blogspot.com is based on Google application.

   How to accept the invitation

   "blotspot.com" asks you twice to accept the invitation.

   Firstly, click the "accept invitation" button to accept the invitation.

    Secondly, click the "accept invitation" to contribute to the blog as a writer.

4. After you accept the invitation, your name will be shown on the right-hand side at the top of the blog.

5. What to write in the blog?

   Write your personal opinions and thoughts on Human rights crisis in North Korea or problems of North Korean regime.

   or Write your comments on the recent news about the problems of North Korea.

   or Write a short essay about North Korea.

   or Upload a video and pictures with your short comments.

   or Write your personal opinions on the other young volunteer writers' posts.

   or Share the posts that other young volunteer writers uploaded.

6. Write and upload the posts to the blog (woodbridgenkinusa.blogspot.com)

Do you want your profile to be shown under each post?

Let me explain how to change Google Plus. It is very simple.

After you log in, Choose Google Plus

Choose Profile

Choose “About”

Choose “Pen Shaped Icon” to change “Story”

In the Pop-up “Story”, you fill in “Introduction”

This introduction will be shown under each post.

After you write “Introduction”, Click “OK”

Choose “Earth” Shape Icon

 

Choose “Public” to decide who can see your Google Profile.

7. Request "Volunteer Service Certificate" to Susie Han (usandnorth@gmail.com) or NKinUSA (info@nkinusa.org).

8. Receive "Volunteer Service Certificate" from NKinUSA by email or by post.

   

   NKinUSA is also a member of President's Volunteer Service Award (www.presidentialserviceawards.gov).

9. Register and Log in President's Volunteer Service Award.

    Keep recording your volunteer hours

    How to input volunteer hours in President's Volunteer Service Award

    - Service Activity: Writing posts to let the world know more about human rights crisis of North Korean refugees

    - Benefiting Organization: NKinUSA

    - Special Areas of Service: Other

                                     Immigrant and Refugee Services

    - Date of Service: Choose the date

    - Hours of Conducted: Input hours

                                  For example, 0.5: 30 Minutes

                                                    1 : 1 Hour

    You will receive President's Volunteer Service Award after the number of your volunteer hours reaches to each level (Gold, Silver, Bronze).

10. Share the posts of other young volunteer writers to speed up the awareness of human rights crisis in North Korea and problems of North Korean regime to the world peace. (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus)

     Introduction to NKinUSA (North Korean Refugees in the USA)

If you want to know more about NKinUSA (North Korean refugees in the United States) or donate for North Korean refugees, please visit its website (www.nkinusa.org) or contact NKinUSA at info@nkinusa.org.

If you are more interested in making your own blog or leading a club for North Korean refugees, please visit the following post.

https://usandnorth.blogspot.com/2017/09/how-to-start-nkinusa-club-at-your.html

United Media Group..

I think these people are doing a good job.

the more i think about it, the more i realize that the liberation of North Koreans has to come from within. From the people themselves, because no government is going to make it happen short of outright military invasion.

i'm currently reading this book.

 

just a wealth of infomation on North Korea. lots of pictures as well.

High rank US generals strongly warned North Korea not to attack Guam.

High rank US generals strongly warned North Korea not to attack Guam.
US Generals said "If North Korea tries to attack Guam, North Korea will be severely damaged. USA will supply all the necessary weapons to protect South Korea."

I want to translate "Severely damaged" into "Disappear from the Earth".

http://news.joins.com/article/21864072

North Korean regime illegally use the vehicles owned by South Korean companies of Kaesung Industrial Complex.

Kaesung Industrial Complex was operational according to the contract between North Korean regime and South Korean government.
North Korea provides the land and workers while South Korean companies installed building and supply electricity.

The Kaesung Industrial Complex has not been open because of the hostile North Korean regime's attitude and policies. South Korean companies abruptly closed their business and left some vehicles behind in the Kaesung Industrial Complex, but North Korean regime illegally use the vehicles owned by South Korean companies of Kaesung Industrial Complex.

Who can compensate for the loss of South Korean companies?

North Korean regime does not have morals.
How can we expect morals from North Korean regime?

http://www.dailynk.com/korean/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=111206

Destitute Farmers In Collective Farm; Starved To Death

typical government  incompetence causing people to starve again....

http://www.asiapress.org/rimjin-gang/report/20170824-farmers-in-starved-to-death/

Recommended reading..

in order to live

Just finished this one the other day. excellent read.
at the end, it gives the reader some idea of the social stigma that North Koreans face once reaching the south.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594206791/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

interview with Yeomni and Hanna Song

Finished inished "Under the Same Sky" by Joseph Kim...

https://www.amazon.com/Under-Same-Sky-Starvation-Salvation/dp/0544705270/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503583938&sr=1-1&keywords=under+the+same+sky+joseph+kim

it's about a homeless kid in North Korea who becomes a christian and eventually finds his way to America.
it's a good read and even a bit humorous in parts.

Update:
i finished last night.
it was sad in the end because he still does not know what has become of his mother and sister.
he loved his sister Bong Sook especially but still has not been able to find her.
well. i just hope they are both ok at least.
when you read stories like this, it just makes you want the regime to fall even more.

here is an interview

personal stories via books and youtube are a good way to learn more about North Korea and they give a good idea of just how hard it is over there for the average person.

"a Thousand Miles to Freedom" by Eunsun Kim

https://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Miles-Freedom-Escape-North/dp/1250092841/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1503583798&sr=8-1&keywords=Eunsun+Kim

i think this one will be an eye opener also.

here is an interview

very few of us in the west have ever experienced hunger like this...

now i'm on to this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4904399056/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
or here
http://www.asiapress.org/rimjin-gang/payment-methods/

it's pricey though but was lucky to pick it up for $20 second hand.

it has been compiled by Asiapress and Rimjin-gang magazine into a 500 page inside look at North Korea.

just started it last night and already learned something new.
part of the famine was caused by kim jong il's ego. that is, trying to rival the 1988 Seoul olympics with his own games.
this caused a huge amount of resources to be drained away from the people and then you had the communist bloc countries slowly converting from socialism to marketization but the NK regime did not see the collapse of the soviet uniion coming and did not prepare.
the importance of this was that the old soviet union would normally subsidize NK with oil and fertilizer but when it collapsed, it was not able to help.
i think kim jong il and his son was the worst thing that happened to North Korea.

however, the book aims to show how North Korea is rapidly being changed from within by its own people by taking things into their own hands.

Nothing to envy by Babara Demick

 just a superb piece of work that covers the lives of 6 North Koreans and their families.
took 15 years to complete.

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/0385523912/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

presentation by Barbara Demick

The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag

https://www.amazon.com/Aquariums-Pyongyang-Years-North-Korean/dp/0465011047/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506496216&sr=8-1&keywords=the+aquariums+of+pyongyang+ten+years+in+the+north+korean+gulag

finished this one last night. another great read.
written by Kang Chol-Hwan, he and his family got sent to Yodok prison camp for something his grandfather allegedly did or said against the regime.
the story is mainly about life in the camp but some interesting reading in the last chapters about his time in china and south korea.

here is a short presentation from the author

Stars Between the Sun and Moon: One Woman's Life in North Korea and Escape to Freedom
 finished yesterday october 18, 2017

 

Lucia Jang escaped North Korea in the 90's
she went though a lot to get herself and her new born baby out of harms way.
she is a humble woman but with amazing strength and resolve.
she now lives in Canada.

here is an article by Susan McClelland, the journalist who helped Lucia write her memoir
https://www.vancouverobserver.com/culture/books/north-korean-defector-recalls-her-journey-freedom-new-memoir

here is a short video about her.
looks like a short news story on one of the local Canadian channels

 The Girl with Seven Names

https://smile.amazon.com/Girl-Seven-Names-Hyeonseo-Lee/dp/0007554850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509996564&sr=8-1&keywords=the+girl+with+seven+names&dpID=51Tw8A3o9sL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

finished this last night nov 5, 2017

it's called an international best seller and it deserves that stamp.it's another amazing story and well written.
unusual in that the author and her family weren't driven from North Korea out of starvation and hoplessness.
Rather it was her curiosity that prompted her to take a trip to China before she turned 18 so that if she got caught, she wouldn't be thrown in prison. that one night of curiosity turned out to be an epic journey for her and her mother and brother.
just bizarre twists and turns thoughout the story.

here is a good interview from Hyeonseo. runs for nearly an hour but worth the time.

North Korea's Hidden Revolution: How the Information Underground Is Transforming a Closed Society

 https://www.amazon.com/North-Koreas-Hidden-Revolution-Transforming/dp/0300217811/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512571739&sr=8-1&keywords=north+korea+hidden+revolution

 

 

just finished.
another great read but Jieun is not a North Korean. she is an american korean who has taken a great interest in the human rights crisis in NK.
the main theme of the book is how outside information is slowly transforming North Korea in to a more independent and critical thinking population. particularly the jangmadang generation.
she has put a lot of hard work in to the book and has spoken to many defectors to put the book together.
she donates all proceeds of her book sales to NGO's who work to send outside information into North Korea.
that's really something.

here is an interview with Jieun about the book at the Korea Society

here is anotther video of the book launch

she also has her own website with writeups about the book and a blog which dosn't appear to be updated very much but there's still some good stuff in it some of which i've reposted already

https://jieunbaek.com/

escape from camp 14

 https://www.amazon.com/Escape-Camp-14-Remarkable-Odyssey/dp/0143122916/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1513619282&sr=1-1&keywords=escape+from+camp+14#reader_0143122916

the very first book i read on North Korea and the one that got me interested in North Korean affairs and i didn't even include it in the recommended reading list!

Shin was a former prisoner in total control zone camp 14. in fact, he was born there and it was only through hearing about meat from a fellow prisoner that he got curious enough to escape. he wasn't motivated by a better life because he didn't know any other life, it was just a child like curiosity for what meat might taste like that got him motivated.