Hamhung concentration camp
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Hamhung concentration camp (also spelled Hamheung) is a
reeducation camp Re-education camp may refer to: * Re-education camps in the Cambodian Genocide * Re-education through labor (''laojiao''), a system of administrative detentions in the People's Republic of China * Xinjiang re-education camps, internment camps for ...
in
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. The official name of the camp is Kyo-hwa-so No. 9 (Reeducation camp no. 9). The sub-facility for women is sometimes called Kyo-hwa-so No. 15.


Location

The camp is located in Hamhung city,
South Hamgyong South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Kore ...
province. The main facility for male prisoners is situated in Hoesang-dong, about northeast of downtown Hamhung. The sub-facility for female prisoners is across the railway station near Songwon-ri, a little village about northeast of the city center. Smaller sub-facilities are in Chongpyong county and in
Kowon county Kowŏn County is a county in South Hamgyŏng province, North Korea. It lies at the southern tip of the province. Physical features The highest point is Palbongsan. The western reaches of the county are high and mountainous, while the east is a ...
, both also in South Hamgyong province.


Description

Hamhung concentration camp consists of five departments: * The 1st and 2nd departments are located in the main facility. Around 1,500 male prisoners have to produce ''Ssangma'' sewing machines and repair them. The building was erected as a colonial prison during the period of Japanese Occupation (1910 – 1945). It was later used as a factory and then as a prison factory since the 1990s. * The 3rd department in Songwon-ri is a prison farm with livestock facilities, rice paddies and vegetable patches, where 500 female prisoners have to work. It was erected in 1998 mainly for defectors. * The 4th department in Chongpyong-gun is a gold mine. The number of prisoners there is unknown. * The 5th department in Kowon-gun is a coal mine. The number of prisoners there is unknown. Besides some common criminals there are many political prisoners, especially repatriated refugees in the camp.


Living conditions

Many prisoners sleep on straw and grass. In the 1st department prisoners sleep on the factory bridges to avoid the lice-infested concrete floor. Food rations are very small and prisoners are always hungry. They only get some steamed corn and a watery cabbage soup or some bean porridge, but no salt or protein. In order to survive, the prisoners eat raw mice, snakes, frogs and insects they can find or grass, tree leaves or bark. Some prisoners even eat undigested beans or corn kernels from cow dung, although they are punished when detected. Ill prisoners still have to work to avoid beatings and reduced food rations. There is just one military doctor in the prison, no medical devices and almost no medicine. Prisoners often get infected when getting injections.


Working conditions

Former prisoners said they had to work from 5:00 a. m. (except in winter) to 7:00 p. m. with only two breaks. In the 3rd department women have to do hard farm work with poor and inadequate tools regardless of the weather. After dinner all prisoners have to attend re-education and mutual criticism sessions, often until 10:00 p.m. If prisoners fail to memorize the teachings of
Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
, their prison term is extended. The prison is surrounded by an electric fence and the prisoners are guarded by security officers 24 hours day and night.


Human rights violations

Former prisoners reported that inmates look like skeletons barely covered with skin or skinny sticks with big heads. In case prisoners do not meet their work quota or violate rules (e. g. if they steal food) they are severely kicked or beaten with rifle butts or wooden sticks. One of the witnesses described how she was beaten more than 30 times, though her head was injured and her ears and nose were bleeding. Another common punishment is the significant reduction of food rations. Prisoners in solitary confinement get almost no food. In 2003 a former prisoner witnessed a public execution by firing squad with all prisoners gathered to watch. Witnesses testified that in winter 1999/2000 around 500 prisoners died in six months Many of them died in hard and dangerous work, when a tunnel from Hamhung concentration camp to Oro concentration camp was dug. Bang Mi-sun reported that during her 18-month prison term around 20% of prisoners in her work group and in other work groups died. Corpses are burnt in large quantities in a furnace. Female prisoners are often sexually assaulted and sometimes raped by security officers. Pregnant women are taken outside the prison to get
forced abortion A forced abortion may occur when the perpetrator causes abortion by force, threat or coercion, or by taking advantage of a situation where a pregnant individual is unable to give consent, or when valid consent is in question due to duress. This ma ...
s.


Prisoners (witnesses)

* Bang Mi-sun (2000 – 2001 in Hamhung) was repatriated from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
for illegal border-crossing. * An unidentified former prisoner (female, 1998 - 2000 in Hamhung) gave testimony to
Anti-Slavery International Anti-Slavery International, founded as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839, is an international non-governmental organisation, registered charity and advocacy group, based in the United Kingdom. It is the world's oldest interna ...
about the camp. She was repatriated from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and imprisoned for illegal border crossing. * Eight other unidentified former prisoners (seven female, one male; between 1998 and 2007 in Hamhung) were interviewed by the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights. Most of them do not want to be identified out of fear that their relatives in North Korea might be punished.


See also

*
Human rights in North Korea The human rights record of North Korea is often considered to be the worst in the world and has been globally condemned, with the United Nations, the European Union and groups such as Human Rights Watch all critical of the country's record. Most ...
* Kaechon concentration camp *
North Korean defectors Since the division of Korea after the end of World War II, North Koreans have fled from the country in spite of legal punishment for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. Such North Koreans are re ...
*
Prisons in North Korea North Korean prisons have conditions that are unsanitary, life-threatening and are comparable to historical concentration camps. A significant number of prisoners have died each year, since they are subject to torture and inhumane treatment. Public ...


References


External links


Committee for Human Rights in North Korea: The Hidden Gulag
- Overview of North Korean prison camps with testimonies and satellite photographs
Database Center for North Korean Human Rights: Prisoners in North Korea Today
- Comprehensive explanation of detention facilities in North Korea based on numerous defector testimonies
Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
– Detailed findings of the United Nations Commission {{coord, 39.957895, N, 127.562786, E, region:KP-08_type:landmark_scale:3000, format=dms, display=title Concentration camps in North Korea