Political Prison Camps of North Korea Exhibit

Odegaard Undergraduate Library and Commons
first floor north display area

In 1982, a North Korean defector and former intelligence agent for North Korea's State Security Agency first testified and exposed the existence of North Korea's political prison camps.¹ Testimonies from former prisoners and guards continue to bring to global awareness the human rights abuses occurring within the camps. There are six functioning camps in North Korea today, holding an estimated 200,000 prisoners.

North Korea's political prison camps are largely inaccessible to the outside world and for that reason, footage of them is quite limited. Nevertheless, illustrative testimonies of former prisoners and guards portray the brutal reality of life in the camps. Satellited images shown in this photo exhibit are of Camp No. 14, located on Google Earth by former prisoner Shin Dong-Hyuk.

This systematic violation of human rights deserves global attention and humanitarian action. North Korea Freedom Plexus (NKFP) and other non-government organizations are endeavoring to further raise awareness of these camps amongst the public at large in various nations through presentations and photo exhibits, including the exhibit currently on display in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library through June 25, 2011.

For information about the North Korea Freedom Plexus .