Yoduk Story

Yoduk Story is a stage play by North Korean defector Jung Sung San (Jeong Seongsan 정성산), released in 2006. The story is based on stories of political prisoners at the Yodok concentration camp. This harrowing musical premiered in the US in October 2006. The writer and director, Jung Sung-San was never imprisoned at Yoduk, therefore he has relied on accounts of others who were there, including Kang Chol-Hwan. Jung was able to escape North Korea and find his way to South Korea, where in 2002, he learned that his father had been publicly stoned to death in the North. In his sorrow and anger, he sought out a way to express all his feelings and promptly began writing this musical. He faced death threats and government pressure to make changes. When financial backers pulled out in the midst of pressure, he put up his kidney as collateral for approximately $20,000.