Minders In North Korea

The foreign team visited North Korea in an attempt to complete 1,000 surgeries for people with cataracts, which causes mild to extreme blindness. They had “minders” with them for the extent of their mission. A minder is a North Korean government official whose role is to monitor and make sure the team is doing everything as planned. They make sure everything is going the way they want it to. The minders are so serious about their job, that one of them threatened to kick the photographer out of the country for laying down to get a full shot of the giant statue of Kim Il-Sung. He explained that no one can lay down in front of the founder of North Korea, as, it is very disrespectful. Minders also act as a guide, translator and guard for the team.

Malnutrition is a massive problem in North Korea and on average, North Korean boys, age seven, are twenty pounds less in weight and eight inches shorter than their neighbors in South Korea. The lack of hospital quality and training for doctors causes an increased rate of illness and medical problems for North Koreans. This is why the team went to North Korea in the first place; to perform surgeries and train doctors. In addition to medical problems, nearly half of North Korea’s population of 25 million live in extreme poverty and are living very difficult

Those who seek to defect from North Korea face a multitude of difficulties when trying to exit the country. Obviously, the borders, especially between North and South Korea, are heavily guarded with troops, mine fields and electric fences that can fry any person who touches them. Even if one is lucky enough to cross the border, when in another country, it is very hard to stay there because as a newcomer in that country, one would be questioned about their origin and have background checks. If one is discovered to be a North Korean, it is very possible that they are sent back. Also, by leaving or at least trying to leave North Korea, one would be putting their entire living families lives at risk. If the North Korean government found out who defected, the person family would surely be forced into concentration camps until they