Shin Dong Hyuk
Shin Dong Hyuk was born in Camp 14. He is the only person that has grown up in a prison camp and escaped to tell his story. In Camp 14, there are about 150,000 people doing hard labor everyday. An electric fence surrounds the camp. Inside, there are houses, factories, and mines. Hyuk says that he thought he was "destined to live and die in this prison camp" (Krainin). Since he grew up there, he assumed the world outside was also a prison camp.
In the camp, he experienced harsh working conditions and torture. When he was little, he accidentally broke a machine. As a consequence, his finger was chopped off (Krainin). He strongly believed in the regime and followed the rules of the camp. When he heard that his mom and brother were planning to escape, he told the guards of the camp. The guards hung Shin Dong Hyuk by his ankles and tortured him with fire because they thought he was trying to escape too. In the end, he was forced to watch the execution of his mom and brother; however, he did not feel any guilt (Koonse). He was one of the lucky few who got the chance to escape. Reading and hearing his story is heartbreaking. Imagine not knowing life outside a prison world. Imagine thinking that being beaten and punished was the social norm. He was deprived of his human rights. Growing up, he never understood or experienced family, laughter, or happiness. He was not treated like a human being. |
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