"I escaped a North Korean prison camp"—Shin Dong-hyuk's Survivor Story

UPDATED February 5, 2015: Shin Dong-Hyuk admitted that key parts of the life story he told the public were inaccurate. Shin has said he misrepresented the prison camp in which he was born and that he changed the dates of and reasons for his torture. "At this point I may or may not be able to continue in my work and efforts in trying to eliminate the political prison camps and bring justice to the oppressed," Shin wrote in a Facebook post.

Shin Dong-hyuk was born inside Kaechon #14, one of the world's harshest labor camps. His parents were political prisoners, declared enemies of the state for having committed minor offenses against the North Korean regime. Shin was routinely subjected to torture and knew nothing of the outside world until his escape at the age of 23.

Today he is on a mission to tell the world his story. And to remind us of the estimated 200,000 other forced laborers currently languishing under the regime of Kim Jong-un.

Produced and edited by Todd Krainin. Cameras by Josh Swain and Krainin.

Subscribe to ReasonTV's YouTube Channel to receive notifications when new material goes live.