Ever since I visited Pyong-yang in 2001 I am following the news about this intruiging country. I've bought books, bookmarked websites and keep taps on everything north korea.
"The aquariums of Pyongyang" is a book by Chol-Hwan Kan and Pierre Rigoulot and tells the story of living inside a north korea prison camp. It's a terrifying view on subjects you never read about in the mainstream news.Today I came across and article in the washington post about another escapee "Shin Dong-hyuk" who is currently living in South Korea. He also wrote a book "Escape to the Outside World" which I'm certainly going to buy. His mother was killed before his own eyes because she tried to plan an escape from Camp No. 14. Before the execution he was tortured with fire to make him confess that he was in that conspiracy to escape as well.However, he finally escaped and got into china and finally was able to tell his story.That is something I never understand about these stories. The escapes always seem so easy, so simple, it makes me wonder why there aren't much more escapees and maybe even if the stories told are even true. For instance:"When they were collecting wood in a mountainous corner of the camp on Jan. 2, 2005, the two ran to an electrified barbed-wire fence. His friend got hung up and died in the fence; Shin stepped on his body and managed to get through."Ok, so his friend got fried on the wire.. But he should still be under high voltage power.. Except if the wires shorted out and power was lost. How else could he walk over him without being electrocuted himself?Anyway, I see no reason to not believe Shin's story, he has enough scars to show his history. But maybe, _maybe_ there's a force within DPRK that secretly works against the leadership and helps people escape to tell stories and thus bringing more discredit to the North Korean government, hoping that eventually it will collapse or be forced to step down.. The escapes just seem to stupid to not be directed somehow... Or maybe it's just plain luck and that's why there are just a few..