Category: Uncategorized

Save North Korean Refugees Day is September 24

Dear Friends:

I am pleased to provide an update for activities and plans for our annual Save North Korean Refugees Day: September 24, 2020, a day in which EVERYONE around the world can take part.

Why September 24th and Why Care?

September 24th is the anniversary of the date in 1982 when the People’s Republic of China signed the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. By signing this agreement the PRC agreed to share international concerns and protocols for refugees.  Yet, the PRC continues to forcibly repatriate men, women, and children back to North Korea to face the wrath of Kim Jong Un. Xi Jinping knows these innocent human beings will face certain torture, certain detention and even public execution for trying to seek a better life, or in most cases today, trying to be reunited with their families in South Korea.  The most recent UN Secretary General’s report on human rights in the DPRK noted specifically the horrific and widespread ill-treatment of women who had escaped and been repatriated citing an OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) interview with over 100 women. The Secretary General called for the international community to extend protection to citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea who have crossed international borders.. AND to take steps to ensure they are protected and not repatriated (66C).  The OHCHR noted that “systematic human rights violations are committed in detention centres, including sexual violence against women and girls, appear to take place under the direct authority of the Ministry of People’s Security and the Ministry of State Security, with the likely involvement of higher authorities and…such violations may amount to crimes against humanity.”

Please consider the many ways you can take part in Save North Korea Refugees Day 2020:

Sign the online petition to Xi Jinping

Free North Korea Radio has set up a petition that everyone can sign at this website:

https://freenorthkorearadio.org/save-nk-refugees/

Be a country or city coordinator

Coordinators pledge to deliver (electronic delivery is fine) on Thursday, September 24th, a letter of appeal to Chinese President Xi Jinping via the local PRC embassy or consulate calling on the PRC to honor its treaty commitments and end its repatriation policy.  A letter and delivery information will be provided for you or you can prepare and deliver your own letter of appeal from your respective NGO.  Just let us know if you can help!

NEW ITEM: Save NK Orphans AND Display Your support for NK Refugees:

ISABELLA FOUNDATION is offering face masks with the words “SAVE NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES” printed on the front. Masks are being sold by the Isabella Foundation (a nonprofit) to support their work rescuing and resettling North Korean refugees and orphans, research projects. Net proceeds are tax deductible.  Isabella is selling the masks for $20.00 each, NKFC members get a $5.00 discount. Just enter code NKFC. You can pay by credit card, check, or if you wil attend our vigil in DC, you can pay in person at the event.  Visit here to order: 

https://www.nkorphans.com/snkrday/

Join us 7 pm on Thursday, September 24th at the PRC Embassy in Washington, D.C. for a Candlelight Vigil

Despite COVID-19, members of the North Korea Freedom Coalition decided to gather (with masks and social distancing) at the Embassy of the People Republic of China and hold a candlelight vigil to recall all those who tried to escape but were forcibly repatriated to North Korea by China.  We will gather at 7 pm at 3505 International Place, N.W., Washington, D.C.  We are happy to provide transportation to DC from Northern Virginia.  So, if you can join us that evening, please let me know and will have a seat for you!

Host a watch party for Crossing

Patrick Cheh, the producer of Crossing, has provided us copies of his award winning movie in recognition of Save North Korean Refugees Day.  Crossing is a powerful drama based on true stories of North Korea refugees and tragically, this movie is as relevant today as it was when it was first produced.  Attorney Tom Barker, who has helped gain U.S. Citizenship for many North Korean refugees, said that it was the movie Crossing that inspired him to get involved in the North Korea human rights movement.  Described by the Wall Street Journal as “A Schindler’s List for North Korea”, this powerful film is being offered for free but we do request a donation.  We started shipping out copies this week and have a copy just for you.  Send me your mailing address and will mail it to you right away.  You can see the English trailer for Crossing here: 

Send us Your Short Video Message for the North Korean Refugees

We are putting together short messages of solidarity to share on Save North Korean Refugees Day to give courage and support to the people of North Korea.  You can say a prayer, send a short message of encouragement, light a candle, just let them know they are NOT forgotten  – whatever inspires you!. 

Upload your short video message here (Google sign-in required) or upload on Facebook or Twitter and tag our social media accounts. And we will be sure these messages will also be heard in North Korea via Free North Korea Radio.

ACTA NON VERBA,

Suzanne

P.S. to give you some ideas for 2020, here is what happened around the world during last year’s Save North Korean Refugees Day:

Save North Korean Refugees Day 2019 Report

Simon Wiesenthal Center Urges YouTube to Delete Korean Language Holocaust Denial Screed, Urges Korean Americans Leaders to Denounces Anti-Semitism

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), a leading Jewish Human Rights NGO, is calling on YouTube  to delete a Korean language Holocaust denial video posted on its platform.

“This slick 25-minute video from “Spika Studio” by a host named “Sue” denies 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis, that anyone was gassed at Auschwitz, labels Anne Frank a fraud, legitimizes Hitler’s hate for Germany Jewry, and alleges secret Jewish control of America for the last 50 years”, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean and Director of the SWC’s Global Social Action Agenda charged.

“American Jews and Korean Americans are good neighbors here in Los Angeles and in communities across  the United States”, Cooper noted.

“We are proud of our involvement over the last quarter of century, together with Korean human rights activists, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea,  the North Korean Freedom Coalition on behalf of the long-suffering people of North Korea and related human rights issues, including the gassing of political prisoners. Recently, we have seen an uptick of anti-Semitic postings online, but this video targeting Korean people is designed to demonize the Jewish people—alive and dead—and cast Jews as a secretive, dangerous cabal.”

“The SWC urges YouTube to remove the video and calls on our Korean neighbors to reject its lurid and false messages”, Rabbi Cooper concluded.

Chosun Ilbo Special Contribution: In Defense of Park Sang Hak and Balloon Launches to North Korea

By Suzanne Scholte, Seoul Peace Prize Laureate
July 5, 2020

The Chosun Ilbo

We can have a lively debate – because we have the blessings of currently living in free societies — on whether balloon launches are an effective means of getting truth and hope, information and humanitarian assistance to North Korea, or whether they are ineffective.  But one thing we know for sure: there is a serious lack of knowledge about Kim Jong Un in the outside world.  This was clearly on display for all to see recently when the  media was all abuzz about his well-being: was he alive or dead, brain dead or totally fine, had he suffered a heart attack or an injury during military exercises?  No one knew for sure.  Only the Kim family’s elite inner power circle knew what was up.

And here are a few other things we can be sure of:

The greatest resource we have for understanding the North Korean regime are the defectors, especially those from elite families like Park Sang Hak.  They understand the mindset of the Kim family.  They know how it successfully functions and know that keeping the North Korean people in the dark and cutting them off from the outside world is critical for the regime’s survival.

Thus, getting information in and out of North Korea is critically important.

Park Sang Hak – and his fellow defectors whether elites like Huh Kwang Il and Kim Heung Kwang or rescuers like Lee So Yeon and Kim Tae Hee, whether new Assemblymen like Thae Young Ho or Ji Seong Ho – could have chosen a quiet and peaceful life in South Korea.  They are all extremely bright and enormously talented.  But instead they have chosen to stand up for the people of North Korea in the hostile environment Moon Jae In has created for them in South Korea.

Park is one example of so many defector leaders who chose to put his own life at risk, sacrificed his own financial security and his reputation by leading Fighters for Free North Korea.

Let’s examine what Park has been sending to North Korea: leaflets describing true facts and current news about the regime, shortwave radios, US one dollar bills, choco pies, protective masks, etc. 

Let’s examine why Park is doing this?  Because he cannot forget the suffering of the people he left behind in North Korea.  He knows what they need.  They need truth.  They need hope.

As the defectors repeatedly tell us: the truth will set them free.

We should be using every possible peaceful means to reach the people of North Korea whether balloon launches or rice bottle launches, whether radio broadcasting or smuggling in SD cards.  Defectors send rice and choco pies, and the North threatens to send bombs and cigarette butts.

Sister Kim Yo Jong’s latest tantrums confirm that balloon launches are effective.  Instead of encouraging nonviolent methods of outreach to the people of North Korea, the Moon administration is instead silencing the voices of defectors and worse he is now putting Park’s life at risk.

President Moon has the highest moral obligation and constitutional responsibility of anyone in this world to uphold the freedom and human rights of the Korean people. Instead of standing up for them, Moon is acting on behalf of Kim Jong Un’s regime. 

What an irony that had it not been for the wisdom of his Mother who fled to South Korea during the War, Moon may have lived under the very tyranny that Park and his family fled.

Whatever happens to Park, Moon is responsible.

And all of us who believe in speaking truth and upholding freedom and human rights must stand up for the North Korean defectors and support their work.  We must never forget that 23 million human beings are living under a dictatorship that is committing crimes against humanity and gross violations of human rights every day against men, women, and children whose only misfortune was not having a wise Mother or simply being born North of the DMZ rather than South of the DMZ.

This article was originally published in Korean by The Chosun Ilbo.

ONE Korea 625 2020

Livestream Available on YouTube now!

For the 70th anniversary since the Korean War, we are holding an online livestream event to gather people from all over the world to pray together for peace to come on the Korean peninsula.

The livestream event can be found on Facebook Live and YouTube Live and the links will be posted shortly. It will also be recorded for those who aren’t able to tune in at the live time.

We recommend that you host watching parties and invite other friends to watch it with you to help create greater awareness for the Korean peninsula’s need for peace.

We will feature guests from all over the world who will share with us their heart for the Koreas and who will lead us in times of prayer.

Some of these guests include:

  • Dan Baumman (YWAM)
  • Jamie Kim (REAH International)
  • Ben Torrey (Fourth River Ministry)
  • Suzanne Scholte (Executive Director of the Defense Forum Foundation and New Korea Freedom Coalition)
  • Ed & Linda Hackett (IHOPKC)
  • God’s Image NOVA
  • and many more pastors and professors from all over the world.

The main program will begin at 6 PM EST (3 PM PST). There will also be a pre-event that begins at 5:30 PM EST (2:30 PM PST) that will feature personal stories of those who have been affected by the Korean War and who are doing work to bring unity and peace onto the Korean peninsula.

Facebook Event and RSVP:

https://www.facebook.com/events/916673035425465/

YouTube Livestream:

https://youtu.be/PQSxh_MGYsE

NGO CSW64 Forum Venues Closed

I wanted to make sure that everyone was aware that the UN Commission on the Status of Women has closed all venues due to the corona virus.  Thus, we will not be able to host our panel with North Korean women escapees and NGO experts next week in New York City as planned.  We are looking at alternatives plans and will keep you posted.  Thank you for your understanding.

Warmest regards,


Suzanne

Join Us in New York City! at NKFC’s panel March 10th during the UN Commission on the Status of Women

We are once again ensuring that the voices of the women of North Korea are heard during the annual UNCSW.  The North Korea Freedom Coalition is hosting a panel at the UN CSW entitled: 25 Years of Repression and Regression for North Korean Women to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration.  Our panel will be Tuesday, March 10th at 6:15 pm in the Aqua Room at 4 West 43rd Street, New York, New York (same location as last year).  We have two amazing eyewitnesses to speak out on behalf of the women of North Korea: Eiko Kawasaki, North Korean escapee of Japan, and Shinae Oh, North Korean escapee of the USA, plus outstanding NGO experts to provide insights and recommendations: Ann Buwalda, of our own NFKC, Greg Scarlatiou of HRNK, and John Sifton of Human Rights Watch.

Everyone is invited to attend and can RSVP at this link: nkwomen.eventbrite.com

We will also be visiting several UN Missions to request specific actions that can be taken to address the status of North Korean women both in their homeland but also as refugees.  You all know — but most people do not — that most of the escapees from North Korea are women as they bear the brunt of the suffering in the DPRK.  You can also help us accomplish this work by supporting these efforts financially. Your Financial Support Is needed:  Please consider a donation – any amount helps – to support this effort to ensure that the suffering of the women of North Korea is not ignored.  Donations can be made online here at: http://www.plumfund.com/charity-fundraising/csw2020

Many thanks and blessings,

Suzanne

Save North Korean Refugees Day 2019 Report

Organized by the North Korea Freedom Coalition In Solidarity with the Hong Kong Freedom Fighters Activists Worldwide Call on Xi Jinping: Stop Repatriating North Koreans

  • Toronto
  • London
  • Mexico City
  • Pretoria
  • Seoul
  • Los Angeles

Thank you to all of you who took part in the annual Save North Korean Refugees Day to appeal to Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China to stop his brutal, inhuman and illegal treatment of North Korean men, women and children. It is an indisputable that North Koreans forced back to North Korea by China’s policy suffer torture, imprisonment, and even execution. We are so thankful to the folks highlighted in this report who would not remain silent but took time to participate in Save North Korea Refugees Day.

A few observations for this year: the PRC was very well aware of our efforts. There was a reported increase of Chinese security presence. It appears that at many embassies the Chinese hired additional private security which may have resulted with our plans to show solidarity with the Hong Kong protesters and sing the song Sing Hallelujah to the Lord.  NKFC members in Pretoria reported that they were specifically told they could not sing! NKFC members in Washington, D.C. were also met for the first time by a security guard who prevented them from approaching the embassy to deliver the petition –but they preceded with the vigil and sang anyway. The most heavily reported push back was in Malawi where NKFC members reported that they were prevented from taking a photo or recording their demonstration, but they did succeed in delivering the petition and singing in solidarity with the Hong Kong protesters.

Second, the commitment to be a voice for the North Korean refugees was very strong and NKFC members in Puerto Rico were so determined to deliver their appeals before tropical storm Karen hit their island, they sent their appeals the night before. They wanted to be sure the PRC consulate got their appeals before they lost electricity which did happen as a result of the storm.

Third, there were many NKFC members praying for all of us – we got a lot of emails from people who felt called to set aside time to pray and fast for North Korean refugees and for what we were doing that day of September 24th. We have included some examples in this report.

And finally, now a confession: the horrific treatment of North Korean refugees is worse than ever before, and I sometimes wonder do these events really matter? Are we making a difference?

Then, I remember two female defectors who had been victims of trafficking and a humanitarian worker who had been in jail in China. All three shared with me that they had thought about suicide, but they heard about these protests against China and they knew: I am not forgotten and it gave them the will to survive. NKFC Vice Chairman Rabbi Cooper once told me that we had to keep doing these protests. We must continue to speak out because silence is acquiescence. We know that silence is death for North Koreans. So, here’s a report from your colleagues and friends from around the world who would not remain silent.

Acta Non Verba,



Suzanne Scholte
Chair, North Korea Freedom Coalition

Continue reading “Save North Korean Refugees Day 2019 Report” →