Understanding Disability in North Korea Through the Lived Experiences of North Korean Defectors

• In Event: Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Interrogating Race, Policy, and Dis/ability in Global Contexts

Abstract

Individuals with disabilities face and undergo serious violation of human rights in North Korea. Although North Korea has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2013, it has been observed that persons with disabilities in North Korea still live in extremely oppressive conditions. Through the lived experiences of persons with and without disabilities who defected from North Korea, this research seeks to provide substantial insight into how disabilities are understood and addressed in North Korean society. With extremely limited literature on this issue, this research study can help to initiate international conversation about individuals with disabilities who experience multiple layers of oppression.

Author

• Yosung Song, Syracuse University