There are no canoes in North Korea

So this past week at work we hosted this viewing of the documentary Seoul Train at Rock Harbor. If you're not aware...Seoul is the capital of South Korea...which is south of North Korea....which is on border of China, on the coast next to Japan.

The film is about North Koreans who are trying to escape the country (which is illegal) by going into China. There is a group called the Underground Railroad who helps people do this.

It's such a good documentary; it's real, vivid, and really dictates the life of someone desperatly trying to escape the rule of Kim Jung Il. There is major famine, human rights violations over the entire country; and not to mention the mulitple prison / death camps that await people who are caught trying to flee the country (they're usually caught by the Chinese, who return them to the NK government -- even though they're aware of the severe consequences...stupid China...).

At the screening this week we borrowed the North Korea Genocide exhibit from the NK Freedom Coalition, and my major task was trying to piece it together and make it viewable. It was pretty tough, but we did it :) Way more people showed up then we anticipated!

I was talking with a friend about people fleeing NK, and she mentioned that people should just canoe over the main river that seperates part of the border. She and I have been disagreeing ever since that this isn't an option for NKoreans. Canoes aren't really "available" for them to use........ It's kind of funny to think of no canoes in the country though.

Anyhoo -- good movie, I highly recommend it, and if you ever go to North Korea and see a canoe please let me know.