Born into prison-life, revealed by North Korean defector in new book
By Channel NewsAsia's Korea Bureau Chief Lim Yun Suk | Posted: 29 October 2007 2146 hrs

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SEOUL : For years, there've been numerous horror stories about North Korea's prison camps.

Since 1992, close to a dozen former inmates have fled across the border to South Korea.

One of the latest to escape has shed more light about life in a prison camp in his newly published book.

24-year-old Shin Dong Hyok has scars that he'll carry for life. Those on his leg were caused by an electrified barbed wire that he scaled while fleeing from a prison camp in North Korea.

Born in the camp, he lived there for more than two decades until his escape to the South.

"They taught little children how to dig for coal in the mines. The person in charge of farms came to our classroom and taught us how to work in the fields. I learnt such things from the time I started school until the fifth grade," said Shin, a former North Korean Prisoner.

Shin said the punishments were harsh, and sometimes horrific, at Camp Number 14 in South Pyongan province.

The middle finger of his right hand was cut to the first joint by camp guards who found his work unsatisfactory.

To share his experiences, he has written a book called "Escape to the Outside World".

"My main motivation for writing this book is to let people know about the children living in the prison camp, and the children who will be born there. I want to give them a voice," said Shin.

Shin recalled that when he was 14, he was forced to watch the execution of his mother and brother.

He said hard labour, daily beatings and even torture were the norm at the prison camp.

He was resigned to leading such a life until a fellow inmate told him stories about the outside world.

"I escaped as I was starving and facing many hardships. I was very curious after I realised how different the rest of the world is. Before that, I didn't know how terrible my life was in the camp," said Shin.

In July 2005, Shin managed to flee to China, and a year later, he reached South Korea.

Coming from a prison camp in the isolated North, he hadn't even known the name of its capital, or the country's leader.

Shin said that even now, he has nightmares that he's back at the camp. He is still trying to make sense of the first 22 years of his life as a prisoner, and beyond that, he faces the tough challenge of adapting to life in modern South Korea. - CNA /ls