Author: Travis Greenleaf

In reading the artical “Hardly known, Not yet forgotten” I now feel as if I have a better understanding of the happenings of the prisoners of war in north Korea.

The article tells the story of a Few POW’s ( Prisoners of War ). For those who servived to tell their stories, being able to share them is an undertaking in its self. Allowing someone to know who you are, facing the dangers of huge repercussions. On top of this North Korea still denies having POWs’. Due to the fact that any and all POWs were supposed to be released.

Most if not all POWs were sent in to working camps, or forced to fight for the North. “POW’s were not only used as forced labor. While the war was still under way, they were often given North Korean uniforms and redeployed as soldiers to fight the other side, defectors said. Some were
lucky enough to be taken prisoner by the South once more, and a policy of voluntary repatriation by the South Korean and US forces after the Armistice meant that they could remain there.” (Hardly Known, Not Yet Forgotten).

“the food on the table went uneaten as she described watching her five- and six year-old pupils die of starvation. as her student were dying, she was supposed to teach them that they were blessed to be North Korean.” Page 9 Nothing to envy

“I left North Korea, I was twenty-six years old and a school teacher, but i didn’t know how babies were conceived.” Page 10 Nothing to envy

Two lines in the first chapter that have already captured my attention.

It perplexes me that the somewhat basic knowledge of how children are conceived could not already be understood at the age of 26. Its Mind boggling to think that Mi-ran had no idea how the process of creating life was foreign, almost alien to her.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton