Imagine being locked in a tiny cell, forced to sit still for 12 hours a day, and beaten for whispering. That’s the horrifying reality for people like Lee Young-Joo, who tried to escape North Korea and got caught. North Korea’s prison system is a secret world of cruelty, where even wanting freedom brands you a traitor. Young-Joo’s story, along with others, reveals a chilling truth: the country’s jails are designed to crush your spirit. This listicle dives into the shocking conditions of these prisons, the brave souls who survived, and their fight for justice. From starvation diets to brutal beatings, we’re spilling the tea on a human rights crisis that’s got the world talking.
Trapped In Onsong: A Living Nightmare
Let’s start with Lee Young-joo’s terrifying time in North Korea’s Onsong Detention Centre. In 2007, she was caught trying to escape to China and sent back to this brutal prison near the border. For three months, she waited for her sentence, stuck in a cramped cell. She had to sit cross-legged, hands on knees, for up to 12 hours a day—no moving, no talking. Even a tiny shuffle got her in trouble. Guards gave her barely any water and just a handful of corn husks to eat. “I felt like an animal,” she said.
The worst part? Hearing the “clack clack clack” of the guard’s boots as he patrolled, ready to pounce. If Young-joo whispered to her cellmates about escape plans, she’d get beaten—her hands smashed with a key ring until they swelled up blue. She could hear others screaming from beatings down the hall. It was pure fear, every day, and prison was meant to scare people into never trying to leave. But Young-joo? She kept plotting her next escape, showing incredible guts in a place designed to break her.
A System Built To Crush You
Now, let’s zoom out to see the bigger picture of North Korea’s prison system—it’s like something out of a horror movie. The country’s ruled by the Kim family, and they demand total loyalty from everyone. Their prisons are tools to keep 25 million people in line, using fear and violence. Young-joo’s story isn’t unique—over 200 survivors told Korea Future, a group investigating these jails, about 5,181 human rights abuses across 148 facilities. Beatings, starvation, and worse are common.
Some women faced rape or were forced to have abortions—one even saw a newborn drowned after a forced abortion at eight months. There are stories of executions, too, to terrify prisoners. The COVID pandemic made things tighter, with harsher rules and longer sentences for things like watching foreign movies. Saerom, another survivor, said beatings at State Security prisons were so bad, you’d crawl out after. It’s a system meant to kill your spirit, but survivors like Young-joo and Saerom prove you can’t crush everyone’s hope.
Fighting For Justice From Afar
So, what’s being done about these horrors? Young-joo and Saerom both escaped to South Korea, but they’re not just moving on—they’re fighting for justice. Korea Future’s investigation, backed by International Criminal Court experts, is building a case against 597 prison officials for their crimes. They’ve created a database of evidence, even a 3D model of Onsong to show the world its brutal conditions. Young-joo, sentenced to three-and-a-half years, thought she might die in prison but survived and now wants those guards punished.
Saerom, haunted by nightmares of beatings, finds joy in her new life but craves justice too. Prosecuting these cases is tough—North Korea denies all abuses and won’t talk to outsiders. But the evidence is ready for court, and it’s free for anyone to use. Survivors hope it’ll bring accountability, even if it takes years. Their courage to speak out is a big step, shining a light on a crisis most of the world ignores.