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Inside SOUTH Korea's slave farms where families send mentally disabled relatives

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The rural island chain, off southwest coast, is home to thriving slave trade Tales of slavery usingdisabledpeople repeatedly emerged in last ten years Recentinvestigationfound more than 100 workers were receiving no pay Police and officials who knew about islands have not faced punishment

By Associated Press Reporter

Published: 08:32 EST, 2 January 2015 | Updated: 16:35 EST, 2 January 2015

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In one of the world's richest countries - it is a fate too cruel to believe.

But it recently emerged that a remote set of South Korean islands have long been used as slave camps - where families send theirmentally disabled relatives to toil in salt farms so that they don't have to care for them.

Slavery thrives on this chain of rural islands off the country's rugged southwest coast, nurtured by a long history of exploitation and the demands of trying to squeeze a living from the sea.

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Inside SOUTH Korea's slave farms where families send mentally disabled relatives

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'A living hell' for disabled slaves on South Korean islands

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AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon In this Feb. 19, 2014, lawmakers, left and right, meet with salt farm owners and workers as a part of human rights inspection on Sinui Island, South Korea. Slavery thrives on this chain of rural islands off South Koreas rugged southwest coast, nurtured by a long history of exploitation and the demands of trying to squeeze a living from the sea. Five times during the last decade, revelations of slavery involving the disabled have emerged, each time generating national shame and outrage.

SINUI ISLAND, South Korea He ran the first chance he got.

The sun beat down on the shallow, sea-fed fields where Kim Seong-baek was forced to work without pay, day after 18-hour day mining the big salt crystals that blossomed in the mud around him. Half-blind and in rags, Kim grabbed another slave, and the two disabled men headed for the coast.

Far from the glittering steel-and-glass capital of Seoul, they were now hunted men on this remote island where the enslavement of disabled salt farm workers is an open secret.

"It was a living hell," Kim said in a recent series of interviews with The Associated Press whose details are corroborated by court records and by lawyers, police and government officials.

Lost, they wandered past asphalt-black salt fields sparkling with a patina of thin white crust. They could feel the islanders inspecting them. Everyone knew who belonged and who didn't.

Near a grocery, the store owner's son rounded them up and called their boss, who beat Kim with a rake and sent him back to the salt fields.

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Slavery thrives on rural islands off South Korea's rugged southwest coast, nurtured by a long history of exploitation and the demands of trying to squeeze a living from the sea.

Two-thirds of South Korea's sea salt is produced at more than 850 salt farms on dozens of islands in Sinan County, including Sinui island, where half the 2,200 residents work in the industry. Workers spend grueling days managing a complex network of waterways, hoses and storage areas.

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'A living hell' for disabled slaves on South Korean islands

Slaves endure 'a living hell' on remote South Korean islands

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SINUI ISLAND, South Korea He ran the first chance he got.

The summer sun beat down on the shallow, sea-fed fields where Kim Seong-baek was forced to work without pay, day after 18-hour day mining the big salt crystals that blossomed in the mud around him. Half-blind and in rags, Kim grabbed another slave, and the two men both disabled headed for the coast.

Far from Seoul, the glittering steel-and-glass capital of one of Asia's richest countries, they were now hunted men on this tiny, remote island where the enslavement of disabled salt farm workers is an open secret.

"It was a living hell," Kim said. "I thought my life was over."

Lost, they wandered past asphalt-black salt fields sparkling with a patina of thin white crust. They could feel the islanders they passed watching them. Everyone knew who belonged and who didn't.

Near a grocery, the store owner's son came out and asked what they were doing. Kim broke down, begged for help, said he'd been held against his will. The man offered to take them to the police to file a report. Instead, he called their boss, who beat Kim with a rake and it was back to the salt fields.

"I couldn't fight back," Kim said, in a recent series of interviews with The Associated Press whose details are corroborated by court records and by lawyers, police and government officials. "The islanders are too organized, too connected."

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Slavery thrives on this chain of rural islands off South Korea's rugged southwest coast, nurtured by a long history of exploitation and the demands of trying to squeeze a living from the sea.

Five times during the past decade, revelations of slavery involving the disabled have emerged, each time generating national shame and outrage. Kim's case prompted a nationwide government probe during the course of several months last year. Officials searched more than 38,000 salt, fish and agricultural farms and disabled facilities and found more than 100 workers who had received no or only scant pay, and more than 100 who had been reported missing by their families.

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Slaves endure 'a living hell' on remote South Korean islands


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