On Thursday, students gathered to hear about the humanitarian issues in North Korea at an event called "The Secret Underground Railroad Out of North Korea," hosted by the club Brandeis Liberty in North Korea as part of 'Deis Impact.

The event addressed North Korea's status as one of the most secretive countries in the world and the problems that accompany that fact. The film and speaker explained that North Korea accepts no assistance of any kind from other countries and is under a strict Communist regime that brings with it many issues, including oppression of human rights and a devastating food crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people have died so far, and many people try to escape by fleeing to China. However, the Chinese government claims that they are illegal immigrants and will deport them back to North Korea, where defection from the country is a capital offense that is punishable by death.

The event began with an hour-long documentary called Seoul Train, which discussed the acts occurring in North Korea from a humanitarian perspective, as opposed to a political one, and how certain individuals are addressing those issues. The founder and director of Helping Hands Korea, Tim Peters, said in the film that there is an underground railroad to get people out of North Korea that is very similar to the one that existed during the Civil War in America and further commented that, "lives are in the balance, not only the lives of refugees, but the lives of activists."

The film followed several groups that attempted to escape North Korea, some successful and some not, and was mostly filmed in secret because it is illegal to film there, the documentary explained. Though all in horrific and terrifying situations, the one common trait among the subjects of the film was how hopeful and excited they seemed to feel about their future outside of North Korea. "I leave everything up to God," one of the refugees commented, saying that she felt guilty about leaving friends and family behind but was excited for the future.

The film ended by saying that though several success stories were shown, thousands of people did not make it safely out of North Korea, and there are still many who are under this oppressive rule and need help.

Brontte Hwang '15, the president of the Brandeis chapter of Liberty in North Korea, introduced the speaker after the film ended, commenting on how personal an issue it is for her because she is Korean. "It's so easy to forget when you don't see it," she said of the North Korean crisis. "North Korea is so small and so dangerous to get involved with. It poses so many threats to us, so why get involved? That's why our government hasn't gotten involved, why other governments haven't gotten involved, and so we need to talk about it."

The speaker then spoke and explained his organization's efforts to assist in North Korea, though he requested that both he and his group remain anonymous due to the complicated issues and danger in North Korea. He explained that his organization is one of the few that are legally allowed to enter the country, and that he himself has visited twice. The organization works to help fund orphanages and grow sustainable trees and crops such as shiitake mushrooms in order to assist the nearly 75 percent of the population that is starving to death.

He said that when he visited orphanages in North Korea, the children were an average of four to five inches shorter than their American counterparts due to protein deficiency, which also caused them to have scars and sores.

The speaker said that the government is in turmoil and would most likely collapse soon. "They have been on their last limb for a long time," he commented, adding that he believed that it was practically inevitable that the regime would eventually fall. Though he said that chaos would ensue if that happened, he also said it seems the only possible way to eventually liberate the nation.

In a conversation with the Justice after the event ended, Dianna Carlson '15, a student in attendance, said that "this is not only an interesting topic but an important topic and I like to hear things that are swept under the rug like this."

Morgan Winters '17, who also attended the event, said that she learned that "there are problems in the world other than what we see in the news." This sentiment that awareness is necessary for the movement was a prevalent one among students in attendance and was also prevalent in the speaker's and the film's messages.

The Brandeis chapter of Liberty in North Korea was founded last spring, and Hwang took over as president this past fall. Hwang described the Brandeis organization to the Justice, explaining that it is a chapter of the larger organization, LiNK, which is the only grassroots organization in America that is focused on this crisis in North Korea.

"This is a huge violation of human rights ... we focus just on the danger that the North Korean government poses to us and we don't know what is happening to the North Korean people on the inside," said Hwang, explaining why she sees the issues in North Korea as so pressing. "I want to get it out there and in people's faces so that they know what is happening. ... Just because North Korea is a small country doesn't mean it won't affect us."
*