Kim Eun-joo, a North Korean defector and human rights advocate, recounts being nine years old when her teacher stops a classroom lesson and leads students outside to a public execution site in North Korea. In an interview, Kim describes the event as her first direct experience witnessing a person being killed by other people, saying she felt unable to put words to what she was experiencing. She later says the memory has stayed with her and is tied to her understanding of how Pyongyang uses public executions and capital punishment.
Kim states that the regime treats executions as a tool to intimidate and control people, framing the practice as necessary and “indoctrinated” as part of its messaging. She also describes how the experience stands out against earlier childhood fears and reactions.
According to Kim, she brings this account to the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris, where North Korea’s use of public executions and capital punishment is placed on the agenda for the first time. The account focuses on personal recollection and the broader advocacy context surrounding the death penalty in North Korea.
