Chandra Kumari Gurung is a former Nepali migrant worker in South Korea who in November 1993 was mistaken to be mentally ill and incarcerated in a South Korean psychiatric hospital for six years and four months.[1][2][3]
Confinement and release
editWhen she was arrested after failing to pay for a meal, Gurung tried to explain—despite her limited command of the Korean language—that she had accidentally left her wallet with money and identification at the factory where she worked. Due to police negligence and a series of professional misconduct, Gurung was taken into custody, wrongly diagnosed as a schizophrenic, and subjected to years of physical restraint, forced medication, and solitary confinement.[4] She was eventually recognised as a Nepali woman and released in April 2000. She returned to her home in Mt. Annapurna in Nepal, where her family had been despondent over her sudden disappearance.[5][6]
Lawsuit and media attention
editGurung later filed a lawsuit to demand compensation for her unjust incarceration and a formal apology from the South Korean government. The court awarded her approximately US$23,500.[3]
Her story gained notoriety and news coverage and was the subject of a short film titled "N. E. P. A. L. Never Ending Peace And Love"[7][8][9] by Park Chan-wook as part of a 2003 omnibus film, If You Were Me (Korean title: 여섯 개의 시선), produced by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea.[10][11][12]
References
edit- ^ 지면보기, 입력 2002 11 06 00:00 | 종합 29면 (6 November 2002). "네팔인 정신병원에 7년 감금 국가가 2800만원 배상 판결". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 20 April 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "a tale of chandra kumari gurung". Nepal Migrant Worker's News. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ a b "LABOUR-NEPAL: Measures to Fight Abuse Start at Home – Activists". Inter Press Service. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ ""한국인 잘못 용서해요, 찬드라" : 사회 : 인터넷한겨레 The Hankyoreh". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "[266] 히말라야에서 찬드라 구릉, 만났습니다 -2001.4.27 (jadunamu4)". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ "Chandra Kumari is happy now". Nepali Times. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ Lee, Ho-jeong (19 March 2003). "Top directors tackle tough topics". Korea Joongang Daily. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Gill, Michael; Schlund-Vials, Cathy J. (2016). Disability, Human Rights and the Limits of Humanitarianism. Routledge. pp. 148–149. ISBN 9781317150138.
- ^ AsianCrush (14 March 2018), A Nepalese woman mistaken as mental patient for not speaking Korean | Short Film by Park Chan-wook, retrieved 24 May 2019
- ^ 씨네21 (10 November 2003). "[인터뷰] 의 박찬욱 감독". 씨네21. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "영화 [믿거나 말거나, 찬드라의 경우] 상세정보". 씨네21. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
- ^ Tasker, Yvonne (4 October 2010). Fifty Contemporary Film Directors. Routledge. ISBN 9781136919459.
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