North Korean Human Rights expert interview 1

Peace Network had a precious opportunity to talk with Professor Park Kyung-seo, the first South Korea's Human Rights Ambassador. Professor Park was the Asia Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) for 18 years from 1982 to 2000. During his term at the WCC, Professor Park visited North Korea for 26 times. Afterwards, he served as the standing commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea and the first Human Rights Ambassador of Korea (2001-2006). He is currently a distinguished professor at Ewha Academy for Advanced Studies.

The following interview conducted in last March was translated into English from Korean by Grace Kim and Kyuran Lee.


While working for the WCC and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, what kind of work did you do to promote human rights in North Korea?

First, in my six-year service as a human rights ambassador of Korea, I expressed the importance and the necessity of a Comprehensive Approach toward the issues of North Korea human rights. When discussing human rights in North Korea, if we prioritize either civil liberties or social rights at the expense of the other, one of the rights could be diluted. Thus, it is very critical to maintain balance in discussing such rights.

Second, human rights should never be politicized. In order to prevent human rights from being politicized, “Principle of Respect for autonomy” is the most important factor. A third party should not intervene in order to enhance human rights of others. The third party only needs to give others an opportunity to realize the importance of human rights and to enlighten them. In other words, a third party ought to serve as a facilitator.

Accordingly, it is necessary to maintain balance between a Comprehensive Approach and a Principle of Respect for Autonomy.

In case of North Korea, however, we need to focus on realizing North Koreans’ right to survival, at the same time we facilitate North Koreans to realize their civil liberties on their own.

How did you come across the concept of “a Principle of Respect for Autonomy"?

Throughout twenty years of experience at international organizations dealing with human rights in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, I became aware of limits of what international organizations as outsiders can achieve in promoting human rights. I realized that the most effective way to promote human rights is to empower the deprived individuals (victims of human rights abuses) with the ability to appreciate the importance of their human rights by themselves. The more the third party coerces people to protect human rights, the more the victims of human rights abuses refuse to understand their human rights.

As I mentioned earlier, we need to take 'a Comprehensive Approach.' Because we have primarily emphasized the right to live, in discussing North Korea human rights, North Korea tends to overlook civil liberties. This tendency stems from their belief that human rights could be protected only by securing the right to live. Hence, it behooves us to make North Korea understand why we have tried to secure its right to live: the right to food is to meet the eventual goal of the political and civil rights, the most critical elements of human rights.

Human rights situation has improved notably in North Korea compared to that of 22 years ago when I first visited North Korea. Once the North Korean nuclear issue is resolved through the six-party talks, I believe that human rights situation in North Korea will significantly improve.

In order to facilitate human rights in North Korea, what kind of roles should various actors -- such as the government, non-governmental organizations, and civil society play?

In dealing with human rights, we should understand that there exists no civil society in a socialistic state unlike a capitalist state. Although socialistic states claim that they do have civil society, civil society in socialistic states is deprived of autonomy and controlled by the state in reality. There is also a difficulty inherent with reconciling diverse approaches regarding the North Korean human rights issue and with integrating them into a “coordination system.” In other words, how non-governmental organizations and activists involved in safeguarding North Korea human rights can facilitate the realization of human rights in North Korea.

In South Korea, for instance, in an effort to promote North Korea human rights, we can outcry, 'defend human rights in North Korea to the desperate, bring down Kim Jong-il,' thinking of those suffering in North Korea. However, this kind of effort will not better the dismal North Korean human rights situation. Nonetheless, NGOs can serve different functions. More specifically, in order to enhance human rights in North Korea, NGO community ought to coordinate workshops often within the community. Of course, there could be different approaches adopted by the NGOs toward North Korean human rights issue. No need for NGOs to engage in bitter confrontational exchanges among themselves either. All NGOs care about North Korean human rights predicament. However, in dealing with North Korea, NGOs must stick to the three principles listed earlier. NGOs are already making some progress on effectively collaborating with each other.

How would you assess the new President Lee's policy towardsNorth Korean human rights issue?

The Lee administration claimed that with respect to North Korean human rights issue, it would pursue an eclectic approach by choosing the most useful and related points from the framework of the Helsinki Process. Adopting related elements from the Helskinki Process will be a good idea. The Helsinki process was an attempt to facilitate collaboration in such issue areas as security, economic collaboration and human rights by linking and engaging both East and West Germany to a larger international framework. Given that this kind of possibility remains for North Korea, the future is promising. The current Lee administration, however, must gain more competency and move away from parochialism. We should be willing to gain insight from other country's experience. As in the controversy over the independence of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, civil society including NGOs must enlighten the government.


It is often the case that when we discuss North Korea human rights, South Korean human rights issue is also mentioned. How would you assess the current South Korean human rights situation? What are some serious problems that need immediate rectification?

According to the U.S.-based Freedom House, South Korea scored 2 on Political Right and Civil Liberties survey on average. In terms of score, there are 56 countries before South Korea. It has been already 10 years since South Korea moved from being a half free state to a free state on the issue of guaranteeing human rights. Yet it does not mean that South Korea is a perfectly free state. Indeed, promoting human rights takes a long time and it is a gradual evolution. The human rights in Western countries are the result of the 100-year-long Enlightenment era(1688-1789). South Koreans experienced their freedom without this gradual evolution; it was an abrupt, overnight shift from dictatorship to democracy. This is why South Korea today struggles to nurture and consolidate the culture of human rights promotion. In spite of this, however, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea can be seen as a resounding, yet cautious, success.

Nevertheless, we should not be so complacent. As a member of OECD, South Korea still confronts with many daunting tasks. Hence, we need to promote South Korea human rights issue at the same time as we promote North Korean human rights. All of us in both North and South Koreas should be held accountable for promoting human rights in the Korean peninsula.

☞[Link to Korean version]