Aoji: North Korea’s Worst Place To Be

The Most Oppressed Place in North Korea: Aoji

Voice of North Korea by Yeonmi Park
Sep 10, 2021

Donate · Patreon · Join my exclusive community

Aoji
아오지
North Hamgyong Province, North Korea
Aoji weather
Mostly cloudy · 63°F 4:29 AM

This place is definitely on par with the horrors of the 30s and 40s, in my estimation. Why we aren’t in there saving them is a good question. I suggest taking her insight for us seriously, as well.

In the middle of nowhere, as they say.

In my long time research into this prison country, I have found that many, maybe even most, of the towns you see as you fly over NK’s northern half and on google earth, especially up on or near the border, are in fact prison camps, either labor camps or political prisons. Folks don’t leave the political ones.

Story of Geum Hee, A Bud of Hope in Aoji Coal Mine

By Daily NK
– 2007.09.13 12:54am
linkage

There have been over 10,000 North Korean defectors arriving to South Korea since the beginning of 2007. Although they came to South Korea in hope of a better life, they realize that the reality is quite different. They claim that, “The only thing that has gotten better since we’ve been here is that we are no longer starving.”

Familiar to the bloody violation of human rights in North Korea, we often mistaken that North Korean defectors arriving to South Korea would only have horrendous memories from their home. We also believe that now that they are in the South, they will be happy enough that they are no longer starving and that they are away from that bloody reality of North Korea.

However, in the hearts of these North Korean defectors lie the deep, unquenched nostalgia for their home. A book written by Choi Geum Hee, who defected from North korea when she was 15 years old and studies Chinese Literature in Hankuk University of Foreign Studies was recently published. Her book is titled, “Geum Hee’s Journey”

[…]

Great article on her escape and life. Daily NK rocks.