North Korea's 'Paradise on Earth' Scheme: A Living Hell for Japanese Settlers
In the 1960s, Eiko Kawasaki, a 17-year-old of Korean descent, left Japan for North Korea, lured by the promise of a socialist utopia. She was among tens of thousands who became victims of an elaborate scheme orchestrated by the North Korean regime. The regime, with the support of the Japanese government and the International Committee of the Red Cross, promised ethnic Koreans a new life in a socialist paradise, with free public services and a higher standard of living.
However, the reality was far from utopian. Kawasaki and her fellow settlers were denied basic human rights and subjected to extreme hardship. The official promises of free education, healthcare, jobs, and housing were a cruel mirage. To their horror, they were prevented from traveling to Japan to visit their families, who they had left behind.
After years of campaigning, four settlers who had escaped to Japan finally secured justice. A Tokyo court ordered the North Korean government to pay each of them at least 20 million yen (approximately £94,000) in compensation. This ruling was a significant step, as it symbolically summoned the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, to testify.
Between 1959 and 1984, over 90,000 zainichi (people of Korean descent living in Japan) fell victim to the North Korean scheme. The regime aimed to recruit workers and deal a propaganda blow to Japan, its former colonial occupier. Many were taken to Japan against their will to work in mines and factories during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Kawasaki, now 83, said she was overwhelmed with emotion after the verdict. However, she conceded that she and her fellow plaintiffs were unlikely to see a single yen, as the Tokyo high court has no way of enforcing the ruling. The most realistic option to retrieve the money would be to confiscate North Korean assets and property in Japan.
The initiative was backed by the Japanese government at the time, with the media describing it as humanitarian and aimed at Koreans struggling to build a life in Japan due to widespread discrimination in housing, education, and employment. Many settlers were taken to Japan to work in mines and factories during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula.
Kawasaki, a second-generation zainichi, realized she had been deceived as soon as she arrived in North Korea. She stayed for 43 years until 2003 when she defected to Japan via China, leaving behind her adult children. One of her daughters and her two children have since escaped from North Korea, but she has had no contact with her other children since the regime sealed the country's borders during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The case highlights the tragic consequences of the 'Paradise on Earth' scheme, which critics describe as state-sanctioned kidnapping. It also raises questions about the role of the Japanese government and the International Committee of the Red Cross in the scheme and the potential for further accountability and justice for the victims.
