South Korea’s Prisoners of Conscience

South Korea leads the world in the incarceration of conscientious objectors, jailing hundreds each year who refuse the country’s manditory military service on the basis of conscience and belief. The vast majority of the imprisoned are Jehovah’s Witnesses, members of a Christian sect that has seen tens of thousands jailed in the half-century following the 1953 truce that ended the Korean War. The New York Times profiles the ongoing struggles of the community and recent developments that could finally see movement in the fight for their freedom of conscience.

Read more:
“South Korean Jehovah’s Witnesses Face Stigma of Not Serving in Army” (The New York Times)

Other coverage:
“South Korean conscientious objectors keep up fight against military service” (The Los Angeles Times)
“South Korea, world’s top jailer of conscientious objectors, resists giving them alternatives” (Fox News)

(Image Credit: Jean Chung/The New York Times )