By Kim Si-on

Korea is like a massive glacier split by a giant ice crevasse; because just as ice sheets move past each other for years, forming cracks over hundreds of meters in depth, the destinies of the ``two Koreas” are in motion but divided by deep channels of agony because of apparently infinite rifts.

Although, many Koreans, over the years have wanted to repair this profound damage ― they have had to face the seemingly infinite number of cracks that have splintered into thousands of different directions.

Even if you could push these two giant sheets of ice together, it would never truly become as it was before. For most of us, unity has gone and all that is left is a bitter cold that freezes our hearts.

As we all know the basic human rights of most in North Korea are being oppressed, and many there are running away in pursuit of freedom. Yet, the oppression of human rights in North Korea has been a continued problem for the last three generations. And while the crimes against humanity are numerous: unequal distribution of food and the prohibition of religious freedom are the two most prevalent.
While North Korea would like us to believe it is a communist society, clearly it is a military dictatorship. This means that the government (under the control of one man) is given the right to manage all economic activities within the nation.

In a socialist country the worker is suppose to come first but clearly this is not the case in North Korea. All harvests are collected and while they should be distributed equally they are not; causing starvation among those that need it the most.

All the while, more and more people die each year of hunger, yet we find a large amount of medical and food aid going toward the military and the elite for consumption or to sell. The other type of oppression is the prohibition of religious freedom. North Korea has ranked first in research that monitors the oppression of religious freedom around the world for eight years.

The Stalinist state’s three dictators ― Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Jong-un are worshipped as gods and praying or conducting any types of worship to anyone besides these so called great leaders is not permitted under the penalty of being forced to live and work in one of the many remote gulags throughout the country.

Believers of Christianity like all religions are being oppressed in the North. However, many believers hold religious ceremonies in secret. Such circumstances are entirely aberrant from the false freedom the media of the North tries to have us believe exists in their nation.

Unable to bear the severe political conditions, many North Koreans flee. Though not all, but many of those who succeed find new lives in South Korea. They no longer fear hunger or any types of physical oppression. Finding jobs may be hard for them but the conditions they live in are no doubt better than those in the North.

On the other hand, those who fail to escape the harsh regime sometimes suffer forced repatriation, which most likely ultimately leads to deadly punishment.

What you have seen through television news and articles is the reality. Things that you think will never happen are actually happening in the land bordering South Korea. People are starving to death. They are killed just because they have religious beliefs and are forced to continue to live in a land of death.

From the perspective of a high school student, the treatment that the people in the North face is much harsher than it should be for dogs. They are people. They have the right to enjoy the fruits of their work, the right to believe in their own gods, and the right to be treated as human beings.

The writer is a student at the Lighthouse International School. Her email address is asion23@gmail.com.