North Korean Prison Camp Survivor Changes Key Details at Heart of ESCAPE FROM CAMP 14

Shin Dong-hyuk, a North Korean prison camp survivor who has won human rights awards, inspired a documentary, and acted as a witness for the United Nations, has changed "key parts of the story" he told to author Blaine Harden, who wrote the biography ESCAPE FROM CAMP 14 based on Shin Dong-hyuk's experiences.

In a statement to the press, Harden wrote on his website: "On Friday, January 16, I learned that Shin Dong-hyuk, the North Korean prison camp survivor who is the subject of Escape from Camp 14, had told friends an account of his life that differed substantially from the book. I contacted him by phone on Friday and talked to him at length, pressing him to detail the changes and explain why he had misled me. I then passed on this information to the Washington Post, for which I originally wrote a story about Shin in 2008."

Harden's explanation goes in-depth on Shin Dong-hyuk's confession, saying the survivor "has significantly revised details of his early life and substantially changed the dates and places of major events."

Read Harden's full statement here.

In their discussion on Friday, Shin Dong-hyuk told Harden, "When I agreed to share my experience for the book, I found it was too painful to think about some of the things that happened. So I made a compromise in my mind. I altered some details that I thought wouldn't matter. I didn't want to tell exactly what happened in order not to relive these painful moments all over again." He continued: "I didn't realize that changing these details would be important. I feel very bad that I wasn't able to come forward with the full truth at the beginning...I am asking for forgiveness."

ESCAPE FROM CAMP 14 was originally published by Viking in 2012 and released in paperback by Penguin a year later. The work has been translated into 27 languages. Harden is currently working with his publisher to amend the book.

Photo: Amazon.com

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