South Korean human rights activists have collected thousands of eyewitness accounts that paint a picture of North Korean prisons where prison guards carry out cruel torture.
From one of our contacts in Seoul, South Korea, we received this story about the mother Sei-youn. Fortunately, she did not go to prison, but she was willing to take the risk of fleeing to China with her 15-year-old daughter as she did not see a future only in North Korea.
Sei-youn writes: My husband worked in a coal mine in North Korea near the border with China. His health gradually deteriorated due to years of working in the coal mines under unhealthy conditions. He died in 2017 from acute pneumonia.
After his death, I was forced to support my daughter alone. It was very difficult for a woman in North Korea, where the economy is not doing well. Not long after my husband died, I fell down a hillside while picking wild vegetables and herbs to earn money. Because of the fall, I injured my back.
After that, I decided it was too difficult to survive in North Korea, so I fled to China with my daughter in 2019. Here a missionary helped me. I was so grateful for the help as I had difficulty doing hard work due to the back injury.
But due to COVID-19, the missionary had to travel to his home country. We also had some difficulties because we couldn't get vaccinated.
"Thank you so much for your help," concludes the mother Sei-youn, who together with her daughter is now safe in South Korea. In 2021, 21 North Koreans were rescued with the support of Danish European Mission donors, and so far 17 have been rescued to a safe third country in 2022.
