"When I first was in China in 1995, I witnessed a boy drowning in freezing water. I saw 8 and 9-year-old girls beaten by the police in the head. I asked the people, 'How can this be?' They said, 'They are from North Korea.' They were not people - they were things," said Pastor Chun Ki Won. This, he said, was what caused him to start his activism work for North Korean refugees' rights.
Won is the founder of Durihana, an organization that has helped 700 North Koreans escape to South Korea. Last Thursday, Won came to the Boston College Law School to speak on the state of North Korean refugee rights.
The event was organized by the Law School's Christian Legal Society, the Korea Student Association, the Law School's Amnesty International, the Holocaust Human Rights Project, and the BC, Boston University, and Harvard Asian Pacific American Law Students Associations to raise awareness on the human rights problem gripping the North Korean people.
Frank Ahn, president of the Christian Legal Society, said Won was the best person to speak on North Korean human rights. "He is the known figure [on this issue]," Ahn said.
"Lots of people work on this problem, but [there] are not many people who do something with the people." Ahn said he coordinated with the other organizations because he didn't want this to be solely a Korean issue, but rather a human rights issue.
Clips of the movie Seoul Train were shown before Won spoke. Both Won and Seoul Train cited starvation as the main reason North Koreans escape from their nation.
However, these escapees face similar dangers when they cross the border into China on their way to South Korea. If caught in raids by Chinese officials and sent back to North Korea, the refugees are subject to the death penalty. Deflecting from North Korea is a capital offense according to Article 47 of North Korean Law. If they aren't caught, the refugees face extreme racism and poverty in China. "Under Chinese law, North Koreans are illegal citizens. But the UN convention of refugees says they are entitled to their rights. International law should take precedence," Won said.
Won's Durihana mission helps North Korean refugees deal with these issues and delivers them safely across the border of South Korea. "They face a lot of difficulties in South Korea because their culture is different," Won said. "They have a difficult time with education, experience loneliness, and feel inferior to the South Korean people."
Won said American citizens can help these refugees. "If you demand refugees to have rights and put pressure on your government, they will put pressure on China," he said. "China will then change its measures. Awareness is the primary focus in dealing with this issue."
Ahn said that BC students can take measures to pressure the United States government into getting more involved in this issue. Massachusetts in particular is strategic, as Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Commission. "We don't want to just talk about this," Ahn said. "We have the opportunity to do things in the short and long term, domestically and aboard, to create a community, a voice that cares, that could be heard by Kerry."
Won called on BC students to help the North Korean refugees by traveling to South Korea and helping teach English in Durihana's schools. Adjusting to the English language can be one of the largest barriers for North Korean emigrants, Won said.
As rewarding as his work is, Won said there is a dangerous element to helping immigrants: "A lot of people recognize human rights, very few people put their bodies on the line for it," said Chun Ki Won. However, Chun Ki Won puts his life on the line everyday for the North Korean refugees, as his humanitarian work involves constant danger. "I do face a lot of danger in my work," Won said. "The Chinese government and the media has said that I am not a good person. I have gotten death threats. But I have a bodyguard you may not understand - my bodyguard is God."
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