Denouncing Human Trafficking in China: North Korean Women's Memoirs as Evidence

Abstract

China's policy of returning North Koreans without a previous screening of their particular cases goes against international agreements, such as the Refugee Convention and Protocol. Multiple organizations have discussed this issue, quoting from legal documents as well as anonymized interviews. What this essay aims to do is present autobiographical texts that deal with the same topic but from a personal point of view. The conditions of North Koreans in China, relived in testimonial accounts, deserve special attention because of their first-person account of victimization. This essay situates North Korean women's memoirs within the tradition of life writing for testimonial purposes, aimed at raising awareness of the critical absence of human rights in the context of North Korean refugees, and the ongoing atrocities committed against girls and women.