by Leslie Patrick
-South Korea-

Standing at the 38th parallel that divides the two Koreas is a surreal experience. On the southern side, buses of foreign tourists on day trips from nearby Seoul buy postcards and gawk across barbed wire fences into one of the world’s most brutal totalitarian regimes.

My tiny peek across the Korean Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, into the North left me curious as to what exactly goes on in a country so secretive. North Korea is a land where horrors like public executions and forced abortions still exist, and the constant threat of imprisonment for even the smallest of infractions against the government looms over the head of every citizen.

by Leslie Patrick
-South Korea-

She smiles brightly as she pushes her walker past me on the garden path. Though her eyes have turned milky with cataracts and age, her gaze is bright. She is tired of fighting. I am about an hour south of Seoul, South Korea in a place called The House of Sharing. Created in 1992, the house is a safe refuge for former Korean sex slaves to live in relative peace, away from the scrutiny of those who would judge them for circumstances they endured as young girls during the Japanese occupation of Korea and World War II.