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Today on the Korean Atlas and History. North Korean Provinces and Special

Cities. South Hamgyeong.

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South Hamgyeong is a province of North Korea that is located southwest of

North Hamgyeong, south of 량강. To the south of South Hamgeyong lies 강원, and

south 평안 is to the west. South Hamgyeong is bordered to the east by the East Sea,

or Sea of Japan. The region is divided into three cities including the capital, 함흥, as

well as 신포 and 단천. It also holds 15 counties. The counties include 장진군, 정평군,

함주군, 허천군, 홍원군, 고원군, 금야군, 부전군, 북청군, 락원군, 리원군, 신흥군, 구동군,

덕성군, 영광군 and 도걱군. As of 2008, the province was reported to have a

population of 3,066,013.

The northern area of South Hamgyeong is rough terrain, especially around

the 마천령 Mountain Pass. The 개마 plateau also extends into South Hamgyeong.

The average height of the 개마 plateau is over 1,300 meters, yet people still live in

around these areas. The village of 백암, in particular, is located above 1,500 meters

above sea level.

 The history of South Hamgyeong begins the ancient Korean tribal state of

옥저. 옥저, a prehistoric state, was soon conquered by the ancient 고려 dynasty.

Later, this area was ruled by the 신라 empire, and then changed hands again into

the 발해 empire. 함경 was later controlled by the 고려 and 조선 dynasties. The

province was originally one large province, without North or South. The full province

was established in 1413, and was named 영길. Three years later it was renamed

함길, and then renamed again in 1470 to 영안. In 1509, it got its current name, 함경,

from the name of the two principal cities, 함흥 and 경성. In 1894, the province of

함경 was first divided into north and south. South 함경, or 함경남도 was also known

by the traditional name 관남. This word means “South of the Ridge” and can also

include areas of North Hamgyeong, although this term, 관남, is no longer used.

In the modern era, south Hamgyeong is known for industry. During the

liberation period of Korea from Japan, this area was one of the strongest areas of

communist support.

After the Korean War ceasefire, 70 to 80 percent of the residents were forcibly

transferred to 황해 island. Kim Il-Sung preferred obedience to left-wing ideology.

Many who were very familiar with communist ideology were still called “Sectarian”

because Kim Il-Sung believed they would not obey him. Communists such as 오기섭

and leftists such as 방호산 were purged from North Korea or taken to the furthest

prisons in North Korea, in order to remove them from any possible power.
 The people of South Hamgyeong have sayings for the people of different

regions in the province. People from the capital city of Hamheung are called 얄개 or

fierce. People from 홍원군 are called 차새 or sparrows, because they talk a lot.

북청군 people are 덤베, or in a hurry all the time. 정평군 folk are 짜드러기 or, in

other words, they stick like leeches.

One area of South Hamgyeong was originally called 신파군, but the name has

been changed to 김정숙군. 김정숙 is the name of 김일성’s wife and the mother of

김정일. Another area was called 후창군, but the name was changed to 김형직군.

김형직 was 김일성’s father.

Unfortunately, for many years, the southwest corner of South Hamgyeong was

home to the 요덕 concentration camp. It’s official name was 관리소 number 15. The

camp was used to punish those seen as enemies of the state with hard labor. The

camp was surrounded by mountains and rugged terrain. The camp perimeter was

surrounded by a barbed-wire fence 3 to 4 meters, or 10 to 13 feet tall. It also had

walls with electric wires and watchtowers at regular intervals. The camp was

patrolled by 1,000 guards with automatic rifles as well as guard dogs. The following

section describes conditions inside the camp and may be discomforting to some

listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

The camp itself was separated into two parts, the total control zone and the

revolutionary zone. The total control zone was for people who had committed
crimes against the regime or had been denounced as politically unreliable, including

those who have become Japanese citizens or Christians. These prisoners were usually

never released, with the exception of those with relatives in Japan. The Christian

mission Open Doors estimated that around 6,000 Christians were once held in the

camp. In the 1990s, the total control zone had a an estimated 30,000 prisoners.

The revolutionary zone was used to punish those with less serious political

crimes, and reeducate them. These include people who illegally left the country,

those who listened to South Korean broadcasts, and those who criticized the

government. These prisoners were eventually released after serving their sentence. In

the 1990s, the revolutionary zone had an estimated 16,500 prisoners.

Most prisoners taken to 요덕 were deported without a trial, or following

confessions obtained via torture. Prisoners were sent here based on guilt by

association, and thus, detainees often included full families, including close relatives,

small children, and the elderly.

Living conditions in the camp were miserable. Prisoners lived in dusty huts

with walls made of dried mud and rotten and leaking roofs made of wooden planks

with a straw covering. Floors were covered in straw and dry plants, and prisoners

slept on a bed made of a wooden board covered with a blanket. 30 to 40 prisoners

would share a room of around 50 square meters or 540 square feet. The huts were

infested with lice, fleas, and other insects. Most of the huts were not heated.
Temperatures in the winter would often reach below 20 degrees Celsius or -4

degrees Fahrenheit, causing most prisoners to get frostbite during the winter.

Inmates also suffered from other diseases including, but not limited to, pneumonia,

tuberculosis, and pellagra, with no medical treatment.

Prisoners were constantly on the verge of starvation, receiving between 100

and 200 grams, or 3 to 7 ounces of corn boiled into gruel served three times a day.

Rations could be less if the agricultural produce of the year was low. Prisoners who

didn’t finish their daily work quota would find their rations reduced or discontinued,

even if they were sick, crippled, or disabled. Their work quota included hard labor

seven days a week. Labor operations included a gypsum quarry, a gold mine, a

coppersmith workshop, textile plants, distilleries, agriculture, and logging. In the

summer, work started at 4 a.m. and ended at 8 p.m. In other seasons, work shifts

started at 5:30 a.m. After dinner, prisoners were required to attend ideological

education and struggle sessions from 9 to 11 p.m. At these sessions, any prisoner

who did not meet their quota was severely criticized and beaten. Prisoners were

forced to report on one another and specific prisoners were designated as foremen

to control a group. If one person did not work hard enough, the whole group was

punished, thus destroying any solidarity among the prisoners. Prisoners who

continually fail would be deprived of sleep or have a reduction in food rations.

 Prisoners would eat whatever wild animals they could catch, including rats,

snakes, frogs, salamanders, worms, and insects. However, if a guard caught a

prisoner eating a wild animal, they would be severely punished. Thus, most prisoners

ate any animal they could catch immediately, and raw. Some prisoners were said to

have eaten pig slop or undigested corn found in animal feces. At the end of the

1990s, it is estimated that around 20% of prisoner died from malnutrition each year.

All former prisoners say that they frequently saw people dying. Those who died were

buried naked, because their belongings were all taken by other prisoners.

New prisoners entering Penal Labor Colony Number 15 would receive clothes

that prior inmates had worn until their death. Most clothes were worn out, dirty, and

full of holes. Prisoners had no shoes, socks, gloves, or spare clothes. All the prisoners

were covered in a thick layer of dirt and had almost no opportunity to wash

themselves or their clothes. Prisoners had to line up in front of dirty communal

toilets. On toilet had to service 200 prisoners, and prisoners only had dry leaves to

suffice as toilet paper.

Elementary school children attended school in the morning. The main subject

taught at school was the history of the revolution of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. In

the afternoon, these children were forced to carry out hard labor with high work

quotas. They had to carry heavy logs, 12 times a day for over 4 kilometers, or 2 and

a half miles. Some children had to carry 30 kg or 66 lb. buckets of feces, 30 times
per day. Other children had to collect 20 kg. or 44 lb. of plants in the mountains.

Still others were forced to cultivate up to 200 square meters or 2,200 square feet of

field. Older children had to work all day, and from the age of 16, children were

assigned the same tasks as adults.

Women were completely unprotected from sexual assaults from guards.

Prisoners were often ordered to strip naked to be beaten, harassed, and sexually

abused. Sometimes women died after being brutally raped. Pregnant women were

usually given forced abortions.

Former prisoners witnessed torture methods that included:

 The Pigeon Torture. The prisoner’s arms were tied behind their back,

legs tied together, and they were hung from the ceiling for several

days.

 Forced Water Ingestion. The prisoner was strapped to a table and

forced to drink large amounts of water. Guards then placed a board on

the prisoners stomach and jumped up and down on it to force the

water out.

 Water Immersion. A plastic bag was placed over the prisoners head and

they were submerged in water for long periods of time.

  And finally beatings. Beatings were so severe that prisoners often

became disabled or even died from the beatings. Children were no

exception from such beatings.

Prisoners were often singled out for execution. A common method of killing

such a prisoner was to assign them an impossible workload. When the workload was

not completed, their rations would be reduced. Eventually, between working more

and less food, the singled-out prisoners would die. Prisoners who violated camp

rules, such as stealing or attempting to escape, were often shot on site. If they were

not, they were often executed in public. Several times each year, summary

executions, or executions without the benefit of a full and fair trial, were held. Before

the execution, prisoners were tortured and denied food. Those forced to watch often

could not endure the scene. They would often protest and be killed as well.

Prisoners were fully at the mercy of the guards. Former prisoners once witnessed a

man tied by the neck and dragged for a long distance. They also witnessed an

elementary school child being kicked hard on the head. Both of these prisoners died

shortly after the events.

Prisoners released from Penal Camp Number 15 were forced to abide by a

written oath and hand stamp that read: “I will face execution if I reveal the secrets of

요덕.”
 Amnesty International demanded the closure of 요덕 and all other political

prison camps in North Korea. The demand was supported by the International

Coalition to Stop Crimes against Humanity in North Korea, which is a coalition of

over 40 human rights organizations. As of 2014, the camp was emptied and

overhauled. Unfortunately, according to 노정민 on Radio Free Asia, many of the

prisoners have probably been moved to a mine further south, called the 코원 Mine

outside of the town of 수동.

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Thank You for listening to this episode of the Korean Atlas and History. Most

of today’s information was taken from the 나무 Wiki and Wikipedia. All of our

episodes can be found and downloaded from koreanatlasandhistory.com. Thank you

for listening and we’ll see you next time.