North Korean dissident talks of 20-year imprisonment

North Korean dissident talks of 20-year imprisonment

14/05/2012 8:02:11 AM

CBC News
Shin Dong-hyuk, who was born in a North Korean political prison, and U.S. journalist Blaine Hardin talk about the book Escape from Camp 14, which details the horrors of Shin's early life and his daring getaway in 2005.


Born in one of the country's harshest political prison camps, he was assigned to hard labour at an early age. During more than 20 years in confinement, Shin ate nothing but a corn-based gruel, slept on a concrete floor and lived in perpetual fear of corporal discipline or, worse, death. In his teens, he witnessed the execution of both his mother and brother after prison guards learned of their plan to escape.








In 2005, at age 23, Shin himself managed to flee, and his heartbreaking tale is told in Blaine Harden's new book, Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West.

Shin spent time in China, South Korea and southern California before settling in South Korea, where he now works as a human-rights activist.

Shin and Harden spoke to Anna Maria Tremonti, host of CBC Radio's The Current, about Shin's horrific childhood, his dangerous escape and the one memory that continues to haunt him.