Students Organize for North Koreans

A small group of students gathered in Fong Auditorium last night to brainstorm possible strategies for fighting human rights abuses in North Korea.

The event was hosted by Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), a new student organization launched by Edward Y. Lee ’08 and Jieun Baek ’09. The organization is just one of 70 chapters worldwide.

The event featured a screening of the 2004 documentary “Seoul Train,” which shows North Korean refugees seeking asylum in border countries such as China and South Korea.

North Koreans who have escaped from Kim Jong Il’s totalitarian regime to bordering China have been sent back to North Korea to face imprisonment or execution, according to Amnesty International.

China is a party to the UN Refugee Convention, and human rights activists say that China is required to grant asylum to North Korean refugees under that convention.

Lee said he hopes to begin an activist movement on campus similar to the movement that focused on Sudan divestment here at Harvard.

“Harvard students have to use their freedom and resources to make a difference.” Lee said.

Lee said he was inspired to create the branch of LiNK at Harvard after visiting South Korea last summer and working at a school for North Korean refugees. “I talked to one girl and I told her that most people of my generation are concerned about what colleges they will get into and turning in their papers.” Lee said. “She said ‘I can’t even imagine that. My mother is sick. My father is in a prison camp.’” Lee recalled.

Jesse A. Sage ’98 of the American Anti-Slavery Group spoke to LiNK last night and said that Americans “don’t fully understand” the scope of the problem in North Korea.

“It’s a shame on the West that we haven’t done more to stop it,” said Sage.

Sage, who also helped coordinate divestment efforts targeting Sudan last year, said that students should make efforts to bring media attention to the North Korean people’s cause.

Sage said he believes this will be easier for Harvard students because they are part of an “international brand.”

Sage also said that students should hold politicians responsible for ignoring the abuses in North Korea.

Qingni Lin ’09 suggested that LiNK try to bring congressmen to the campus to discuss the issue or organize a protest at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Lee said that the organization will seek official student group status next semester, and will host a series of awareness events next fall.