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To
the Readers of the English Edition of Rimjin-gang :
ISHIMARU Jiro (Chief Editor and Publisher)
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Seven years have passed since I first joined forces
with North Koreans living inside the country to cover
the lives of ordinary people.
International
media from Japan, South Korea, North America and Europe
have all produced news stories and documentaries based
on the audio and video captured by our team. |
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Jiro
Ishimaru at North Korea - China border zone |
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Working together with those living on the inside is what makes
covering North Korea possible. This approach appears to be
the only viable option. I came to realize that outsiders attempting
to shed light on North Korea hit a wall that is simply impossible
to breach. No one can report on a nation better than its own
people, and while it may be possible to enter the country,
it is impossible for outsiders to engage in conversations
freely or wander about without a guide (whose true mission
is surveillance).
What
is really happening inside this secretive nation?
Joining hands with those actually living there is the only
way to truly tell the story of North Korea. That is the conclusion
I have reached after covering North Korea for seventeen years.
It is the reason I launched the magazine Rimjin-gang.
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I was shocked to come in contact with realities of North
Korean society I had personally never witnessed before
thanks to the increasing activity of these reporters
on the inside. I was surprised to see the society transforming
at such a rapid pace.
I hope that
by reading Rimjin-gang, our readers will realize that
North Korea, a country until now hidden under a deep
veil, is in the midst of sweeping changes, and that
these changes are without a doubt being brought about
by the people themselves. |
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Press
Conference:
Releasing Rimjin-gang
First Issue of Japanese
Edition (2008/April/8 Tokyo) |
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The following essay is a summary of this transformation based
on reports by our North Korean Rimjin-gang team. By reading
this essay, I believe the readers of the English edition of
Rimjin-gang will gain a better understanding of the purpose
of our periodical. Ishimaru
Jiro, October 2010
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Ishimaru Jiro
Ishimaru was born in 1962 in Osaka, Japan. He is the Osaka
office representative for ASIAPRESS.
He studied abroad in Seoul for two and a half years and
then in ’93 traversed the entire 1400 kilometer China-North
Korean border. He has made reports from inside North Korea
three times, and has been to the border region more than
seventy times. Up to now he has interviewed more than 700
North Koreans. Ishimaru is the publisher and chief editor
of Rimjin-gang.
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Copyright
(C) 2010 ASIAPRESS INTERNATIONAL All Rights Reserved |
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