“God is good,” declares a man who was born in a North Korean concentration camp
When I was in high school, I came across the Vice documentary “Inside North Korea” and developed a kind of fascination for this restrictive country, as well as a deep sympathy for the plight of its people. They didn’t teach us about this in schools. To find out more, I read the book “Escape From Camp 14,” in which the author Blaine Harden recounts Shin Dong-hyuk’s harrowing escape, first from the concentration camp in which he was born, and second, from North Korea.
Shin was born in a camp because of North Korea’s system which punishes three generations for a crime. Apparently, his grandfather had tried to escape to the south during the Korean War. His parents were both prisoners who were allowed to marry as a reward for good work —his mother was actually given to his father as “payment” for his skills in machinery. Shin grew up with his mother and only saw his father a few times a year, since they worked in different areas in the camp. He saw his mother and brother as competitors for a limited supply of resources — the prisoners were always starving. Because they were treated like animals, they behaved like animals.
His education wasn’t related to North Korea; instead it was work such as rock picking, weed pulling, and working on the nearby hydroelectric dam. He witnessed many executions, and when he was 13 years old, he overheard his mother and brother making plans to escape. Believing he would be rewarded, Shin informed the guards. You have to remember that he had been taught to inform from a young age and he was constantly starving — his humanity had been stripped away from him. Sadly, these events led to the execution of Shin’s mother and brother, which Shin witnessed.
In 2015, Shin revised some aspects of his story as he had told it to Blaine Harden. It turns out he had been transferred to Camp 18 at a young age, and escaped twice in his teen years. The second time, he managed to escape into China but was caught and sent back; for that he was severely tortured for over six months. Questions have been raised about the authenticity of his testimony and some have accused him of being a fraud; however, Shin bears the scars of his torture (he is missing part of one finger, and his back and legs are covered with scars). It’s a well-known fact that severe trauma has a strong influence on the memory storage and retrieval, and any person in Shin’s place would bear the emotional scars for life. Even if he may not have expressed all the details accurately, it’s obvious that Shin experienced human rights abuses of the gravest variety during his life in North Korean prison camps.
Nevertheless, his story has a happy ending, unlike millions of other North Koreans who live in suffering and an unknown number of them who languish in political prison camps. Shin made his way from China, to South Korea, and then eventually to America. In an interview on 60 Minutes, he stated, “I think I’m still evolving from an animal to a human.” He’s also said, “I don’t really know anything about music. I can’t sing and I don’t feel any emotion from it. But I do watch lots of films and the one that moves me the most is Schindler’s List.” I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of nightmares he must have, and the struggles he faced adapting to a life of freedom while wrestling with the horror and the trauma of his past.
In 2015, Shin married a Korean-American woman. Leeann is a Christian, and Shin has also converted to Christianity.
Earlier this year in June, they welcomed a baby boy into the world. Leeann wrote on her Facebook, “My prayers have been answered.”
Shin Dong-hyuk himself marvelled at the vast difference between the circumstances of his birth and the birth of his son, as he wrote on his Facebook, “Wow my baby is half North Korean. He is Perfect freedom.”
On July 3rd, he wrote, “After escaping from the North Korean prison camp a little over 10 years ago I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams that I’d be where I am in life right now. When I was born my mother had nothing to eat and begged the guards for anything to sustain her and I. As hard as it must have been she still fought to survive and didn’t give up. Now as a father myself, I can’t help but wonder if she felt hope for my future and well-being. My father is likely still suffering there and thinking about me.. But at least he now has a grandson that I know he would feel so much joy and love for. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve won the good fight and have defeated the dictator in this battle. I am very grateful to my mother who helped bring me into this world. I am blessed to be able to experience what I am. God is good.”
There are so many incredible angles of this story. Shin Dong-hyuk was born in a North Korean prison camp and his son was born into pure American freedom. Shin found the love of his life even though he was raised without love. He found healing in the blood of Jesus Christ, because “he was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” (Isaiah 53:3).
But most of all, I find it amazing that this man has seen the blackest depths of humanity, the purest hate, and the darkest evil — he was born in a place which is essentially hell on earth — and yet he has come through it all and is able to declare, “God is good.” If anyone has reason to be angry at God and to protest bitterly against injustice, it’s Shin Dong-hyuk. His story actually makes me wonder why I’ve ever complained about anything in my life — I’ve been so abundantly blessed.
Shin Dong-hyuk, his beautiful wife, and their newborn baby are a poignant reminder that evil can never overcome goodness, truth, and light. New life springs up from the parched earth.
“In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
