“After living there for less than a year, our father became mentally ill. While we were in Japan, Chongryon [the General Association of North Korean Residents in Japan] promised that there would be free medical treatment in North Korea. We initially went to seek a cure for my mother’s illness. When we arrived, there was no medicine. I was upset, and complained to my father, ‘Why did you take us to this kind of place?’ The thing that really made the experience difficult was that we weren’t allowed to reveal our inner thoughts and feelings to anyone. In every neighborhood, there were plenty of ethnic Koreans from Japan who had some form of mental illness.”
-Kim So Ja (repatriated 1961, defected 2003)
“Our dad was a Chongryon cadre. In 1976, he was taken in by the State Security Department, put into solitary confinement, and severely tortured. For the rest of his life, he walked from place to place with a cane, begging forgiveness from those who had decided to leave Japan [in part because of Chongryon’s advice]. Our mom and dad got down in front of us on their hands and knees and apologized for taking their children to such an awful place. Because of my father’s ideological shortcomings, I had poor songbun [caste system based on regime loyalty and family background] and was restricted in my professional career. He was so full of regrets. In the future, I want to continue to apologize to all the people my father wasn’t able to during his lifetime.”
-Go Jeong Mi (repatriated 1963, defected 2003)
The preceding passages were testimonial statements from ethnic Koreans from Japan who were repatriated to North Korea. An in-depth investigation was conducted on the conditions that precipitated the repatriations and the conditions that awaited them in North Korea. They were promised in Chongryon propaganda that North Korea was a paradise on earth, and so 93,339 people boarded ships and traveled to begin a new life in North Korea. The consequences of that decision would be life changing for all of them.
The international human rights NGO Amnesty International released its annual report on the human rights conditions of 160 nations in February. The report describes human rights violations being inflicted by the North Korean authorities on their people in nearly every imaginable category. Other NGOs, such as the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights and the Korea Institute for National Unification, are tracking and compiling these infractions and defector testimonies. Through these organizations, we are getting glimpses at the vast, far-reaching human rights violations being inflicted on the North Korean people.
However, it is difficult to get specific information on repatriated ethnic Koreans from Japan. They constitute a fairly small portion of North Korea’s total population (according to the National Statistical Office, the latest tally is 24.6 million for the end of 2014). As a consequence, the amount of defectors reaching South Korea is especially low, making it hard to get information on this population.
As soon as they landed in North Korea, they were called ethnic slurs. They were relegated to the agitator and hostile class. Thereafter, they were the subject of continual surveillance by the authorities. It has proven difficult to get more detailed information about the human rights situation of these residents. That is why a special report, conducted by compiling in-depth interviews with defectors, focusing on these matters is attracting significant attention.
The Unification Academy interviewed 40 defectors who were previously repatriated from Japan to North Korea. The interviews were carried out in multiple sites, including Korea and Japan (Tokyo and Osaka, from February 15 until May 31. The interviewees were asked about the repatriations process, the treatment they experienced in North Korea, and any human rights abuses they suffered. The results of the investigation were presented at a seminar in the Seoul Press Center.
Of course, this research will need to be supplemented with follow up investigations and further research. For example, it is estimated that the defector population of repatriated ethnic Koreans from Japan is around 400-500 people. A survey sample size of 40 people is a good start, but it is not comprehensive.
Nevertheless, the investigation is receiving positive reviews. For one, it is attracting global attention towards the cause of human rights in North Korea. Secondly, it is establishing a bedrock of findings that will serve as a starting place for supplementary investigations.
According to the results of the study, 62.5% of the respondents became the target of surveillance purely because they were ethnic Koreans from Japan. 80% of those who were the subject of said investigations was under regular surveillance by the State Security Department, which monitored their daily life.
The North Korean authorities judged that the repatriated individuals were a threat to the stability of the nation because of their experience in a free, capitalist society. The authorities therefore judged that if the repatriated individuals contacted ordinary residents, they could influence them to yearn for a free society. This is why such a thorough system of surveillance and control was thrust upon them.
After 1967, the North Korean authorities issued an order to stamp out ideological impurity stemming from capitalist influence or political agitation. This targeted the majority of the repatriated population. In the words of one of the investigators, Jang Myeong Su, “many of the activists who boarded the ships to North Korea went missing after 1967.”
Lee Tae Gyeong, head of an organization called Repatriated Ethnic Koreans Family Association, said at the press conference, “If I were to succinctly sum up what life is like in North Korea, I would say, ‘Life under the microscope.’ I felt like I was being watched by someone everyday. It’s hard to explain what that is like to someone who hasn’t experienced it. Especially the fear. When I discovered that people who were close to me were actually spying on me, I felt so betrayed.”
Lee continued, “About 100 of us went to North Korea together from Japan. We were from the same town and had known one another’s families for generations. Out of those 100 people, 16 were taken away by the authorities. Of those: seven were caught trying to escape; two were accused of being spies; three were charged with guilt by association for trying to incite a revolution; one was charged with disseminating leaflets slandering the regime; two were caught saying that life was better in Japan than in North Korea; one was sent to a re-education camp, but the exact charge is not known.
In addition, the repatriated individuals about whether they received discrimination or disadvantages while in North Korea. 33 people, or 82.5% of the survey sample, reported that they had experienced disadvantages, listing things such as marriage, work, difficulty securing a promotion, and forced residence movement.
The report reads, “The North Korean authorities used propaganda to lure to ethnic Koreans in Japan to repatriate, but the results of the survey show that many were discriminated against in North Korea merely because of their background. In particular, they had a difficult time when it came to marriage, job placement, and promotions. It was viewed that if the repatriated individuals were promoted to a cadre position, they could pose a threat to the stability of the regime.”
The repatriated individuals had housing and residence limitations as well. According to the results of the survey, 45% of the respondents, or 20 people, lived in North or South Hamgyong Province, and 25%, or 10 people, lived in North or South Pyongan Province.
The report discussed the fact that repatriated individuals were sent to far flung rural regions as punishment if they complained that they had been tricked by Chongryon propaganda, which advertised North Korea as a paradise. The purpose of this forced residence movement was to separate them from ordinary residents.
Ethnic Koreans from Japan were victimized by extreme suppression of their human rights and freedom in North Korea. Furthermore, once they arrived, they had absolutely no opportunity to freely return to Japan if they so chose,” noted Korea Institute for National Unification Researcher Oh Gyeong Seob, who also attended the seminar.
“The repatriations were and are a long term problem. To solve it, we need investigations into the true nature of the phenomenon and ultimately, public apologies from Chongryon and the North Korean authorities. Right now, it is also important to get the support of the Korean government to help address the human rights aspect of this problem. Within the larger human rights agenda on North Korea, this is one important aspect. We need to continue our investigations into this aspect.”
