Category Archives: North Korean Refugees
New Book: A Long Way to Freedom
A Long Way to Freedom is the story of one refugee family’s harrowing journey to safety, from a daring escape out of their own country, North Korea, to years of surviving their way over half a continent.
This is a tale of bravery, great fortune, and also terrible failures and defeat. It is an epic adventure of love, violence, danger, true friendship, and betrayal. But it ultimately ends in success, and a hard earned victory over unbelievable odds.
A Long Way to Freedom – (297 pages, Paperback or PDF)
By Douglas Comish
Crisis Looming Over 2008 Beijing Olympics
China Tries Silencing 4 South Korean Lawmakers
Beijing, January 12, 2005 — Four South Korean lawmakers were harassed while attempting to hold a press conference in Beijing (see the lawmakers’ statement below), when the meeting was halted by a group of men in plain clothes who refused to identify themselves.
Protests Held at Chinese Embassy & Consulate in Japan
Journalists Swell the Crowd in Tokyo Demonstration
Actual participants numbered perhaps 30 or so, but with the journalists buzzing around our group, the crowd probably looked larger to the double-handful of guards blocking the gate to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo. We were careful to maintain order and obey the laws, but it appeared the embassy staff didn’t want to take chances. The guards remained serious and watchful throughout the protest.
LFNKR’s Activities — What We Accomplished in 2004
Current Situation of North Korean Refugees
Recently, the world has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of North Korean refugees who, rather than continuing to hide in China, are choosing to escape to other Asian countries. Escape destinations include Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.
North Korean Holocaust Exhibition in Seoul
Seoul, Korea
The “North Korean Holocaust Exhibition” was held from November 8 – 10, 2004, at the National Assembly Members Building in Yeoido, Seoul, Korea. This event, the equivalent of an exhibition in the US Capitol, marked the formal launch of this powerful and dramatic depiction of the suffering of the North Korean people.
NGOs, Lawmakers Receive Update on LFNKR Activities
China Claims 62 NK Defectors Not Repatriated Yet
Beijing officials are denying media reports that they repatriated 62 North Korean defectors. South Korea’s Joong Ang Daily stated on Nov. 12 that China is denying earlier news reports of returning the 62 to North Korea. Authorities in Beijing are reportedly claiming that the defectors are still undergoing processing prior to repatriation at a detention center near the border with North Korea.
Lawmakers Protest Aid Worker Imprisonment
To Chinese Ambassador
Below is the text of a post card mailed by many Grand National Party members of the National Assembly, South Korea. The card was addressed to the Chinese Ambassador stationed in South Korea.
Chinese Government Siezes More Refugees
65 Refugees, 2 Rescue Workers
LFNKR, together with all other human rights and humanitarian organizations, calls for China to release immediately the 65 North Korean refugees and the 2 Korean rescue workers, who have been arrested and are being unjustly held in prison.
LFNKR received the following English translation of a statement issued in Korean by the Democracy Network Against the North Korean Gulag.