Notes on Camp 14

Camp 14 Living Conditions

• Shin and his mother lived in a 'model village' in Camp 14.

• Shared a room with a concrete floor; 4 families shared a kitchen with limited electricity (2 hours/day).

• No beds, chairs, tables, or running water.

• Limited bathing options.

• Shared well and privy; human waste used as fertilizer.

• Meals: corn porridge, pickled cabbage, and cabbage soup almost daily.

Shin's Relationship with His Mother

• Shin often stole his mother's food, leading to beatings.

• Saw her as competition for survival, not with affection.

• Mother's name: Jang Hye Gyung, born 1 October 1950.

Reward Marriages

• Arranged by guards as rewards for prisoners.

• Unauthorized sex punishable by death.

• Marriage offered better jobs and housing.

• Shin's father was given Jang for his lathe skills.

Family Life

• Limited interaction with parents and older brother.

• Guards taught children to inform on parents to wash away sins.

• Shin viewed guards as teachers.

Harsh Realities

• Witnessed his mother's non-consensual encounter with a guard and her public shaming for not meeting work quota.

Survival Strategies

• Ate rats, frogs, snakes, and insects to prevent pellagra.

• Tried various methods to alleviate hunger.

Widespread Hunger

• Eating problem prevalent in North Korea, stunting growth and causing mental retardation. There is a significant height and weight difference between North and South Korean Teenagers.

• Famine in the 1990s resulted in mass starvation.

Camp 14's Self-Sufficiency

• Camp was self-sufficient, growing its own food and producing goods.

• Shin and his mother were miserable and hungry but accustomed to it.