If suffering is a wellspring for art, there are no greater artists currently living than defectors from North Korea. Witness: this forum, which has compiled drawings from survivors of the country’s brutal concentration and work camps (more are sampled after the jump).
The commenters over at Gawker have put China at the top of their dialogue on its post about these drawings. North Korea is a reality that no one — not even Chinese leaders — wants to acknowledge (unless its dear leader has just died). I’d say maybe it’s time we do, but the reality of politics, unfortunately, is complicated and messy, often devoid of considerations such as “human rights.” Gotta love the world we live in, right?
Translated by Redditor ryanyang.
Damn commies!
Haunting
“North Korea exists ENTIRELY because the Chinese feel like they need a buffer between their country and the ROK. They don’t want to share a border with South Korea (they’re afraid of defections) so they prop up North Korea and all it’s atrocities just to deny refugees from China easy access to a democratic nation.”
Hm. If it weren’t for that telemarketer who called asking for “Ms. Iccalee” this morning, this might have been the stupidest thing I’ve heard all day.