Hey everyone!
LiNK Outreach Bay Area is ready for another semester of reaching out to promote human rights awareness!
We will have our first informational meeting this coming Tuesday, September 8th @ 8 pm in 87 Evans Hall. Please come out to learn more about what's going with human rights in North Korea and what we're doing here at Cal to spread the word.
If you're interested in helping out, or just learning more about North Korea, come check us out! We'll be handing out staff applications for those of you who want to get more involved.
Hope to see you all there!
What: LiNK Outreach Bay Area General Meeting
When: Tuesday, Sept 8. @ 8 pm
Where: 87 Evans Hall
Sincerely,
LiNK Outreach Bay Area
Monday, September 7, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
We're Back!
Hello from LOBA -- LiNK Outreach Bay Area!
We're definitely looking forward to an exciting semester this fall :)
I know this blog hasn't been updated as often as we would have liked, but we'll do our best to keep you posted on some of the latest news sorrounding North Korea, the state of human rights (or lack there of) in the country, and some of our thoughts as well.
To start, here's part of an informative article from The Korea Times that touches upon multiple events that have occurred recently:
NORTH KOREA SEEKING TO ENGAGE SOUTH
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
North Korea seems to have begun a reverse engagement policy with South Korea by making a number of conciliatory gestures over the past few weeks.
Among others, the communist state freed five South Korean detainees, in addition to the release of two American journalists, and stressed the need for governmental talks between the two Koreas.
The move is similar to the late former President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy'' of engaging the North that started about 10 years ago.
On the other hand, the South Korean government is seemingly being less than enthusiastic about initiating dialogue.
The North's official Rodong Shinmun newspaper said, "There is no separation between authorities and civic groups when it comes to the implementation of inter-Korean joint declarations.''
The declarations refer to those signed on June 15, 2000 and Oct. 4, 2007 between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the late former Presidents Kim and Roh Moo-hyun.
North Korea has called on the South Korean government to abide by the two accords.
...
On Saturday, Pyongyang released four South Korean fishermen after 30 days of detention, the latest move to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula. They accidentally crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) last month.
About two weeks ago, a South Korean employee working at the Gaeseong complex returned home ― after 130 days in detention ― following Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun's visit to North Korea and a rare meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The man was detained for allegedly making derogatory comments about the North Korean regime and attempting to entice a woman to defect to the South.
North Korea asked for nothing in return for the release, according to Unification Ministry officials.
For the late former President Kim's state funeral, North Korea dispatched a delegation to Seoul to pay its respects to the architect of the engagement policy toward Pyongyang, who held the first inter-Korean summit in 2000.
North Korea also agreed to resume reunions of displaced families from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1 at its scenic Mt. Geumgang resort during inter-Korean Red Cross talks last week.
Seoul, however, appears unready to present conciliatory measures any time soon.
"It is true that the inter-Korean relations are thawing but the government cannot improve the ties if there is no advancement in denuclearization,'' a government official said, asking to remain anonymous.
Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung also said late last week that the government would not resume the suspended tour program to Mt. Geumgang unless North Korea guarantees the safety of South Korean tourists.
In July last year, a South Korean female tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier at the Mt. Geumgang resort.
North Korea has refused to conduct a joint investigation of the incident.
*Full article can be found at: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/08/116_50917.html
We're definitely looking forward to an exciting semester this fall :)
I know this blog hasn't been updated as often as we would have liked, but we'll do our best to keep you posted on some of the latest news sorrounding North Korea, the state of human rights (or lack there of) in the country, and some of our thoughts as well.
To start, here's part of an informative article from The Korea Times that touches upon multiple events that have occurred recently:
NORTH KOREA SEEKING TO ENGAGE SOUTH
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
North Korea seems to have begun a reverse engagement policy with South Korea by making a number of conciliatory gestures over the past few weeks.
Among others, the communist state freed five South Korean detainees, in addition to the release of two American journalists, and stressed the need for governmental talks between the two Koreas.
The move is similar to the late former President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy'' of engaging the North that started about 10 years ago.
On the other hand, the South Korean government is seemingly being less than enthusiastic about initiating dialogue.
The North's official Rodong Shinmun newspaper said, "There is no separation between authorities and civic groups when it comes to the implementation of inter-Korean joint declarations.''
The declarations refer to those signed on June 15, 2000 and Oct. 4, 2007 between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the late former Presidents Kim and Roh Moo-hyun.
North Korea has called on the South Korean government to abide by the two accords.
...
On Saturday, Pyongyang released four South Korean fishermen after 30 days of detention, the latest move to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula. They accidentally crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) last month.
About two weeks ago, a South Korean employee working at the Gaeseong complex returned home ― after 130 days in detention ― following Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun's visit to North Korea and a rare meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
The man was detained for allegedly making derogatory comments about the North Korean regime and attempting to entice a woman to defect to the South.
North Korea asked for nothing in return for the release, according to Unification Ministry officials.
For the late former President Kim's state funeral, North Korea dispatched a delegation to Seoul to pay its respects to the architect of the engagement policy toward Pyongyang, who held the first inter-Korean summit in 2000.
North Korea also agreed to resume reunions of displaced families from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1 at its scenic Mt. Geumgang resort during inter-Korean Red Cross talks last week.
Seoul, however, appears unready to present conciliatory measures any time soon.
"It is true that the inter-Korean relations are thawing but the government cannot improve the ties if there is no advancement in denuclearization,'' a government official said, asking to remain anonymous.
Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung also said late last week that the government would not resume the suspended tour program to Mt. Geumgang unless North Korea guarantees the safety of South Korean tourists.
In July last year, a South Korean female tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier at the Mt. Geumgang resort.
North Korea has refused to conduct a joint investigation of the incident.
*Full article can be found at: http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/08/116_50917.html
Friday, February 20, 2009
Temper Tantrum
South Korea's president Lee Myung-bak has been unimpressed by North Korea's recent threats and abuses. North Korea, upset with Mr. Lee's stance of only engaging with the North when it dismantles its nuclear capabilities, has threatened confrontation. According to the Economist, North Korea has "expelled most South Korean officials from the Kaesong industrial complex, a symbol of economic co-operation. In late January it repudiated a 1991 agreement on reconciliation, non-aggression and co-operation between the Koreas. It says it will no longer honour the western maritime boundary between the two countries, known as the northern limit line, long disputed by the North. This week South Korea’s press reported that the North Korea seemed to be making preparations to test-fire its Taepodong-2 missile." Mr. Lee has acknowledged the threats as serious but "not new".
Kim Jong-Il is likely employing these threats as a means of stirring up nationalism within North Korea while trying to maintain the attention of the United States as President Obama attempts to address domestic concerns, rather than to instill fear in the South Korean people. The
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has directed her attention to the North as she joined Yu Myung Hwan of the RoK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to assert their dedication to the Six Party Talks to achieve a verifiable end to the North's nuclear program. Clinton called upon the North to uphold is agreement to the 2007 Joint Statement of the Six Party Talks. Additionally, Clinton stated North Korea can not expect to have a productive relationship with the United States if it continues to abuse and threaten South Korea.
In related news, Clinton announced that Ambassador Stephen Bosworth is to be the special envoy to North Korea and will assume the position of U.S. chief negotiator at the Six Party Talks. Bosworth has served as a U.S. ambassador to South Korea most recently at the turn of the millennium, as well as to the Philippines and Tunisia. He was the executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) from 1995 to 1997, a group that, according to the Daily NK, "is in control of the aborted building of two light-water nuclear reactors in the North as part of a previous denuclearization deal".
Kim Jong-Il is likely employing these threats as a means of stirring up nationalism within North Korea while trying to maintain the attention of the United States as President Obama attempts to address domestic concerns, rather than to instill fear in the South Korean people. The
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has directed her attention to the North as she joined Yu Myung Hwan of the RoK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to assert their dedication to the Six Party Talks to achieve a verifiable end to the North's nuclear program. Clinton called upon the North to uphold is agreement to the 2007 Joint Statement of the Six Party Talks. Additionally, Clinton stated North Korea can not expect to have a productive relationship with the United States if it continues to abuse and threaten South Korea.
In related news, Clinton announced that Ambassador Stephen Bosworth is to be the special envoy to North Korea and will assume the position of U.S. chief negotiator at the Six Party Talks. Bosworth has served as a U.S. ambassador to South Korea most recently at the turn of the millennium, as well as to the Philippines and Tunisia. He was the executive director of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) from 1995 to 1997, a group that, according to the Daily NK, "is in control of the aborted building of two light-water nuclear reactors in the North as part of a previous denuclearization deal".
Sunday, February 1, 2009
North Korea's New Cold Front
South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, and his ministries are experiencing newfound difficulty in progressing discussion with North Korea and its leaders. South Korea's unification minister, Hyun In-taek, the constructor of Lee's policy of offering aid and investment under the condition of the North's giving up of its nuclear arms. However, North Korea has obviously viewed this policy as an presumptuous infringement on their sovereignty, as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has refused to talk to the South for months now. According to The Economist, North Korea has vaguely threatened “all-out confrontation” in January, blaming the Republic of Korea's president for raising tensions. This hostile tone from the North is not a surprising response, given that the rumors of political instability following their dictator's stroke and resulting health complications have forced the North Korean government to present a stoic face to the world, as the nations of the globe speculate as to the future of the DPRK.
In other news, LiNK is preliminarily preparing for a screening national tour of the award winning film, Crossing. Acting as South Korea's official submission to the 2009 Academy Awards' Foreign-Language Film category, this film poignantly depicts a North Korean father and his epic journey as he is forced to travel into China to retrieve medicine and money for his ailing family. A trailer subtitled in English is available on YouTube here. The LiNK Crossing Tour: West will reach the following cities on the following dates:
March 15th-March 18th: San Diego, CA
March 19th-Marchl 24th: Orange County, CA
March 25th-April 3rd: Los Angeles, CA
April 4th-April 6th: San Louis Obispo/Santa Barbara, CA
April 7th-April 11th: Sacramento/San Francisco, CA - Bay Area take note!
April 13th-15th: Eugene, OR
April 16th-April 18th : Salem, OR
April 19th- April 25th: Portland, OR
April 26th-April 29th: Tacoma, WA
April 30th -May 5th: Seattle, WA
May 6th: May 8th: 21st: Spokane, WA
May 9th: Boise, ID
May 10h-May 11th: Salt Lake City, UT
May 12th –May 15th: Las Vegas, NV
More details are to come.
In other news, LiNK is preliminarily preparing for a screening national tour of the award winning film, Crossing. Acting as South Korea's official submission to the 2009 Academy Awards' Foreign-Language Film category, this film poignantly depicts a North Korean father and his epic journey as he is forced to travel into China to retrieve medicine and money for his ailing family. A trailer subtitled in English is available on YouTube here. The LiNK Crossing Tour: West will reach the following cities on the following dates:
March 15th-March 18th: San Diego, CA
March 19th-Marchl 24th: Orange County, CA
March 25th-April 3rd: Los Angeles, CA
April 4th-April 6th: San Louis Obispo/Santa Barbara, CA
April 7th-April 11th: Sacramento/San Francisco, CA - Bay Area take note!
April 13th-15th: Eugene, OR
April 16th-April 18th : Salem, OR
April 19th- April 25th: Portland, OR
April 26th-April 29th: Tacoma, WA
April 30th -May 5th: Seattle, WA
May 6th: May 8th: 21st: Spokane, WA
May 9th: Boise, ID
May 10h-May 11th: Salt Lake City, UT
May 12th –May 15th: Las Vegas, NV
More details are to come.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Liberty Live Tour 2008 Comes to Berkeley
Start: Sunday, October 12, 2008 7:30 PM
Location: Julia Morgan Center for the Arts
2640 College Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
Directions to the Julia Morgan Center
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) Outreach: Bay Area will be hosting Spiralnote Records and LiNK's Liberty Live Tour as it makes a stop from traveling across the States to grace us with the harmonious sounds of the Philly rock band Miss Vintage and LA rock-pop sensation Andy Grammer, playing music and raising awareness about the present humanitarian crisis in North Korea.
The third-to-last of their 22 stops will be right here in the East Bay at the Julia Morgan Center in Berkeley.
Our lives are not through just yet, so lets help turn this tour into the genesis of an exciting campaign to bring this issue to the attention of America at large and empower a movement that will one day allow for liberty in North Korea.
Tickets are $10 Pre-Sale! They are available now online at http://www.linkglobal.org/libertytickets.html
Tickets are also available at the door for $15.
UPDATE:
In an attempt to make this event more affordable for all, tickets are now
$8 dollars Pre-Sale and $10 at the door! All the more incentive to bring all your friends for a great show!
Location: Julia Morgan Center for the Arts
2640 College Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
Directions to the Julia Morgan Center
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) Outreach: Bay Area will be hosting Spiralnote Records and LiNK's Liberty Live Tour as it makes a stop from traveling across the States to grace us with the harmonious sounds of the Philly rock band Miss Vintage and LA rock-pop sensation Andy Grammer, playing music and raising awareness about the present humanitarian crisis in North Korea.
The third-to-last of their 22 stops will be right here in the East Bay at the Julia Morgan Center in Berkeley.
Our lives are not through just yet, so lets help turn this tour into the genesis of an exciting campaign to bring this issue to the attention of America at large and empower a movement that will one day allow for liberty in North Korea.
Tickets are $10 Pre-Sale! They are available now online at http://www.linkglobal.org/libertytickets.html
Tickets are also available at the door for $15.
UPDATE:
In an attempt to make this event more affordable for all, tickets are now
$8 dollars Pre-Sale and $10 at the door! All the more incentive to bring all your friends for a great show!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Inside North Korea Documentary Screening this Week
Our first event come Autumn 2008 will feature a National Geographic documentary, offering a very comprehensive look at the state of North Korea, this Wednesday. The film follows Lisa Ling as she poses as an undercover medical coordinator and is closely guarded/watched throughout her trip inside the dictatorship.
The film will be shown on the UC Berkeley campus in the Valley Life Sciences Building (VLSB). Details of the showing can be found above on the flier. So nice, we printed it thrice.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Born and Raised in a Concentration Camp: North Korean Defector Shin Dong-Hyuk Shares
Start: Monday, May 12, 2008 7:00 PM
End: Monday, May 12, 2008 8:15 PM
Location: Valley Life Science Building, Room 2040, UC Berkeley
2040 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720
Directions to Berkeley
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) will be hosting North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk on a speaking tour entitled, "Born and Raised in a Concentration Camp." He will recount his experiences as a North Korean who was born into slavery as a political prisoner in a North Korean concentration camp. Shin was born on Nov. 19, 1982 and called the camp home until 2005. While at the camp, he endured daily beatings, torture, starvation-level rations, saw forced abortions and even witnessed the public execution of his mother and brother in 1996. Shin described his life of total isolation from the world: "In South Korea, although there is disappointment and sadness, there is also so much joy, happiness and comfort. In Kaechon, I did not even know such emotions existed. The only emotion I ever knew was fear: fear of beatings, fear of starvation, fear of torture and fear of death." LiNK's Executive Director Adrian Hong will accompany Shin on the tour and will be speaking about the broader issue of human rights in North Korea, as well as the current refugee situation and LiNK's resettlement activities. Liberty in North Korea is an international non-governmental organization devoted to human rights in North Korea and the protection of North Korean refugees.
6:45 PM Registration
7:00 Speakers: Shin Dong-Hyuk, North Korean defector
Adrian Hong, LiNK
8:00 Q&A
Speaker Biographies:
Shin Dong-hyuk: Mr. Shin was born and raised in Political Prison Camp No. 14 until his escape in 2005. Based in South Korea, he has testified before Britain's House of Lords, and published a book in 2007 entitled "I Was a Political Prisoner at Birth in North Korea" published by the DataBase Center for North Korean Human Rights. Mr. Shin aspires to attend college and hopes to become a policeman.
Adrian Hong: Adrian Hong currently serves as Executive Director of Liberty in North Korea, or LiNK, an international NGO devoted to human rights in North Korea, and the protection of North Korean refugees all over the world. In December of 2006, Mr. Hong was arrested along with 2 LiNK field workers and 6 North Korean refugees in the People's Republic of China and imprisoned before being released and deported.
End: Monday, May 12, 2008 8:15 PM
Location: Valley Life Science Building, Room 2040, UC Berkeley
2040 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720
Directions to Berkeley
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) will be hosting North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk on a speaking tour entitled, "Born and Raised in a Concentration Camp." He will recount his experiences as a North Korean who was born into slavery as a political prisoner in a North Korean concentration camp. Shin was born on Nov. 19, 1982 and called the camp home until 2005. While at the camp, he endured daily beatings, torture, starvation-level rations, saw forced abortions and even witnessed the public execution of his mother and brother in 1996. Shin described his life of total isolation from the world: "In South Korea, although there is disappointment and sadness, there is also so much joy, happiness and comfort. In Kaechon, I did not even know such emotions existed. The only emotion I ever knew was fear: fear of beatings, fear of starvation, fear of torture and fear of death." LiNK's Executive Director Adrian Hong will accompany Shin on the tour and will be speaking about the broader issue of human rights in North Korea, as well as the current refugee situation and LiNK's resettlement activities. Liberty in North Korea is an international non-governmental organization devoted to human rights in North Korea and the protection of North Korean refugees.
6:45 PM Registration
7:00 Speakers: Shin Dong-Hyuk, North Korean defector
Adrian Hong, LiNK
8:00 Q&A
Speaker Biographies:
Shin Dong-hyuk: Mr. Shin was born and raised in Political Prison Camp No. 14 until his escape in 2005. Based in South Korea, he has testified before Britain's House of Lords, and published a book in 2007 entitled "I Was a Political Prisoner at Birth in North Korea" published by the DataBase Center for North Korean Human Rights. Mr. Shin aspires to attend college and hopes to become a policeman.
Adrian Hong: Adrian Hong currently serves as Executive Director of Liberty in North Korea, or LiNK, an international NGO devoted to human rights in North Korea, and the protection of North Korean refugees all over the world. In December of 2006, Mr. Hong was arrested along with 2 LiNK field workers and 6 North Korean refugees in the People's Republic of China and imprisoned before being released and deported.
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