UMG:Today we are joined by Ms. Park Myong Shim. In our previous episode, Ms. Park described how her mother was arrested for distributing South Korean drama videos, and how she herself was ambushed and arrested by state security agents waiting for her at her mother’s rendezvous point. Ms. Park, you mentioned that you were detained at a Ministry of State Security Detention Center for a month. What happened after you were taken into the detention center?
Park: State security agents immediately handcuffed me after my arrest and held me from both sides as they dragged me away. All my possessions were confiscated as soon as I entered the Ministry of State Security office and I was completely stripped for a body search. My possessions were inspected by a male security agent; he was very thorough with his search and scanned everything from my bag down to the soles of my shoes. The body search was conducted by a female security agent. These agents responsible for conducting body searches don’t know what crimes people are charged with, but you must take off all your clothes regardless.
I asked why I had to take off all my clothes, and she replied that the body search has to be conducted naked. She explained this was necessary as some women coming back from China hide money in their genitals and anus. I had to squat up and down several times. This part of the process was very humiliating. It was made worse by the male security agents looking at me from behind the steel door. After the inspection, they detached any rubber waistbands, zippers and shoelaces from my clothing, because they could be used to commit suicide. You cannot wear shoes in a detention center either. This was the first time I was severely mistreated in my entire life.
UMG: Detention centers are known to have poor conditions. What was your experience?
Park: They did not allow me to put my head up. The internal structure of the building was quite complex, and I could only see the floor, so I didn’t get a good look at the actual building structure. Once you got close to your cell, they made you crawl on all fours. There were four unisex cells during my time at the Hoeryong state security detention center. My cell was right at the end of the corridor and I had to crawl past the first three cells, so I couldn’t look between the bars on the cell doors.
The cell had a small steel door only big enough for a dog to go in and out. I crawled through the door to find a room less than four square meters in size. The bars on the door were higher than a sitting person’s eye level, so prisoners cannot see outside while sitting down. Prisoners had to have their backs to the door and look towards the walls. There was a small vent, the size of two hands, near the ceiling but it didn’t bring in any sunlight or air.
Around 20-30 people are sitting down in this tiny space. Everyone is sitting cross-legged, staring at a wall all day. Being in this position, in addition to not being able to speak, made me extremely dizzy after three to four hours.
UMG: What did they feed you?
Park: When mealtime came around, prisoners turned to face each other to eat. I don’t think even an animal would eat the food we ate. They mixed grounded raw corn powder with water, with the summer heat causing lumps of mold to float on top. As soon I saw those lumps of mold, I couldn’t bring myself to eat it. I starved for five days straight. This coincided with the monsoon season, when there is frequent rain and the humidity is high. The floor was made of wooden boards and they become uneven, so being in a room like this makes your knees ache and your joints become numb after four to five days. You get to a point where you can’t even feel pain. It was one of the toughest times of my life.
UMG: How did you endure everything without eating anything? Did anyone pass out?
Park: Yes, there were people that couldn’t endure it and passed out. If one person passes out, everyone in the cell gets punished, so we try to prevent that from happening by pressuring each other.
I gradually began feeling physical shocks after five days without food. At this point, I felt there was no point in struggling to continue. After resigning that there was no way out of this for myself, my body and mind began to feel paralyzed. I reached a stage where I stopped feeling pain, and I eventually passed out after ten days.
UMG: What steps are taken when someone passes out? Do you receive treatment?
Park: The Ministry of State Security doesn’t want people under investigation to die, as the responsibility for a death falls on their hands. I regained consciousness three days after passing out. What happened was that the security agents beat me until I woke up because they thought I tried to attempt suicide. There is no medicine for prisoners, only beatings. I asked why I was covered with bloody bruises all over my body, and they said it was to wake me up and help me regain consciousness. Then I was dragged out in that condition to be interrogated.
UMG: How was the interrogation conducted?
Park: First, they give you a pen and paper and order you to write why down why you have been sent there. But I didn’t know why I was arrested so what could I possibly write? I sat there not writing anything, before the security agent started asking me what my father and mother’s names were and continued asking other questions. This is how they get a confession. If you don’t speak at all, they throw all kinds of verbal abuse at you, saying things like “you are the daughter of a w**** that sold out her own country”.
UMG: You were only 19 when you were interrogated, did they severely beat you too?
Park: Being punched or kicked was the norm. I was beaten with planks of wood and leather belts worn by the security agents. Having your hair pulled and getting hit against the wall was also a daily ordeal. I was young, and a woman, so that was the extent of the violence. Adults are beaten more severely. I can’t forget the cries I heard coming from the cell next door.
UMG: In addition to the physical pain, it must have taken an extraordinary mental toll on you when you were forced to confess to your mother’s so-called crimes. Did the security agents threaten you to squeeze out that confession?
Park: I didn’t write a long confession, and so they thought I was hiding something. After a series of closer interrogation sessions, they sent me back to my cell. They called me back after two to three days for a new round of interrogations. I continued to resist and refused to confess. A security agent then showed me a copy of my mother’s writing. Usually, they would bring her in person, but they tried to get a confession out of me with her handwritten confession. The security agent showed me what my mother had written during her interrogation process, and pressured me to confess. The agent threatened to kill my mother right in front of me and send my entire family to a political prison camp on charges of espionage. The agent showed me handcuffs, belts, pistols and wooden planks, saying that I wouldn’t have a clean or easy death.
UMG: Eventually, you were released from the detention center. But your mother was later sent to a political prison camp. How are marital relationships affected in a case like this?
Park: To my knowledge, separated couples are automatically divorced. It was the same case for my parents.
UMG: How was your life after the detention center?
Park: Life became harder on the outside. I’m originally from Onsong, but I was detained in Hoeryong. When I returned home, there was a lot of speculation about me. I was continuously called up by the Onsong state security office and they re-interrogated me for a month or so. When I was home, people from the Ministry of State Security at the provincial, military, and municipal levels came after me. I would ask, “Isn’t the investigation finished already?”, but they would say they have some unfinished business and continued to try and coerce a confession from me.
If I altered even a word from my original confession, I would be branded a liar and be punished. So I had to memorize exactly every word of my confession and repeat it time and time again. I couldn’t stand living like this after two months, I feared I would be taken away just like my mother. So I left my house, without telling my father, and ran.
UMG: Are you in contact with your parents?
Park: No, I haven’t been able to contact them. I heard my mother was sent to Yodok political prison camp, and my father was sent to a re-education camp in Susong.
UMG: They may not hear this broadcast, but is there anything you want to tell your parents?
Park: First of all, mother and father, thank you so much for bringing me into this world. I immensely regret never saying “I love you” to you both. I desperately hope you two are still alive in North Korea. You may not be able to hear the story I told here today, but I hope it reaches other North Korean residents. Dear people of North Korea, please find freedom as soon as possible. The country you live in is not a place for human beings. My parents are imprisoned in political prison camps, but the North Korean authorities refuse to admit the truth. I will do the best I can until the day I’m reunited with my parents. I will continue to do my utmost to testify and share my stories of human rights abuses happening in North Korea.
The Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Act of North Korea have provisions against torture and inhumane treatment. Criminals are protected by Article 242 of the Criminal Code and Articles 6, 37, 167 and 222 of the Criminal Procedure Act. Article 37 of the Criminal Procedure Act stipulates that confessions obtained through pressure and/or influence shall not be admitted as evidence. However, the North Korean State Security Department continues to use violence, blackmail and other coercive tactics to force confessions. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the international community calls upon North Korea to put an end to human rights violations occurring inside their detention facilities.
