Category: Activism

Justice for North Korea (JFNK) is a small, activism-oriented group lead by South Korean pastor, Peter Chung. It has Christian and non-Christian members from both Koreas and a handful of other countries. At times they have been active in the Seoul portion of the multi-city demonstrations in front of Chinese embassies around the world that are coordinated by the NK Freedom Coalition. In May 2007, they started a 444-day campaign leading up to the Beijing Olympics in August 2008. Every...

I’m very glad I took Dan B’s advice and attended the presentation on the North Korean Database Center (NKDB) for Human Rights. The event was held at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, last Thursday. NKDB founders Kim Sang Hun and Yoon Yeo Sang gave the presentation. The NKDB has created an extensive database of alleged human rights abuses in North Korea, one that is both comprehensive and subject to detailed statistical analysis for journalists, policymakers, and perhaps...

The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea is seeking a researcher and writer for an upcoming study of North Korea’s hereditary political caste system, known in Korean as “songbun.” The songbun system, though technically abolished years ago, continues to control each North Korean citizen’s access to employment, residence in the best-supplied areas, and by extension, food and medical care. What is not known is the degree to which the influence of songbun persists, or the extent to which the...

[This post will be updated as necessary.] Today is June 3 and that means tonight it will be June 4 in North Korea, where detained journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee will be tried in a North Korean court for supposed crimes of illegal entry into North Korea and unexplained “hostile acts.” In a show of support for the two women, vigils are taking place nationwide this evening and also tomorrow. Some vigils will include celebrity appearances, speakers and public...

The Facebook page for Laura Ling and Euna Lee (which Lisa Ling has now taken over as administrator) is calling for vigils to take place everywhere on June 3, U.S. time, which is June 4 in North Korea – the date of the scheduled trials for Ling and Lee. So far, vigil locations include Washington, D.C.; New York, NY; Birmingham, AL; Portland, OR; San Francisco and L.A., CA. Organizers are also asking for help from willing volunteers. Contact information is...

The list of events this year looks extremely interesting. For most of these, you have to be in Washington D.C. I only wish I had time to attend more of these. More here. One that I’d especially like to attend is a screening of “Kimjongilia,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Calls for the release of Laura Ling and Euna Lee will also be heard, but so far, Lisa Ling is maintaining her public silence. Sort of. Their families...