Escape from Camp 14

In addition to the political issues that gave rise to the camps’ existence, the camps themselves are marked by an oppressive, brutal regime. This is why human rights groups are so keen to raise awareness of what is occurring within these camps and to challenge the apathy that has so far characterized the international response to them.

Shin’s account of his own life in the camp highlights this brutality; particularly during the period in which he was tortured by the guards. Likewise, his mother and brother’s public executions are depicted in graphic detail. Violence was not limited to such events, though, but was endemic within the camp. Guards and teachers were given free rein to beat and rape prisoners, although Harden notes that women would often consent to sex in exchange for more lenient treatment within the camp. This is not to say that violence was limited to guards and teachers, however; in fact, Shin’s own mother would issue beatings that were sometimes as violent as those meted out by the guards. Group violence was also common, with teachers enlisting students to punish students who were not pulling their weight, who were scavenging or struggling to complete arduous manual tasks.

Guards showed no sympathy or mercy to anyone who could not cope with their workload, and weakness and sickness were seen as personal faults that necessitated punishment. The rationale was that prisoners needed to make themselves useful and cope with whatever tasks they were assigned. The scene in which Shin drops a sewing machine highlights this mindset: sewing machines were seen to be far more valuable than prisoners in the camp and, as punishment for his carelessness, the superintendent ordered that Shin’s finger be cut off.

Teachers would likewise issue beatings, and Shin recalls one extreme incident in which a girl was beaten for hoarding five kernels of corn. The camp’s official rule was that anyone caught stealing or concealing food would be shot, but, more often, this rule was not enforced: teachers would either “issue a couple of desultory whacks with a stick” (26) or do nothing. Students therefore often felt that it was worth taking a chance, however, in this instance, the teacher was in a bad mood. Indeed, teachers and guards did not need a reason for beating prisoners—as former guards have revealed, they sometimes did so simply because they were bored or because they felt like it. The teacher in question subsequently beat the girl so severely that she died later that night.

As was the norm, no mention was made of this incident in school the next day, and there was no evidence that the teacher was disciplined. The students accepted such violence as normal and warranted, as they had internalized the official line about their treasonous bloodlines. In fact, Shin states that he and his fellow students had accepted that they deserved to be beaten. They did not even feel angry with the guards and teachers.

It was only once Shin learned about the outside world that he started questioning this arrangement and feeling resentful. In one instance, he even stood up to a hot-headed sewing-machine repairman who was kicking a woman in the face. Surprising himself, Shin lost his composure and hit the man with a wrench until he fell to the ground. From this incident, we see that at this point Shin was “no longer a passive, malnourished, torture-traumatized child” (91).

Aside from this significant outburst, Shin was more often on the receiving end of violence and torture. Such acts are now in Shin’s past but, as with his psychological trauma, the scars remain. As the author summarizes near the beginning of the book, Shin’s body is a map that reveals the various brutal acts to which he was subjected in the camp. The ensuing chapters consequently expand on this subject, detailing the circumstances that led to each of these scars.