[imText1]“I have broken up with a boyfriend because his family did not like that I was from North Korea”
Hwang Bo Young (28), a former ice hockey player in North Korea, had drawn attention at the North-South Ice Hockey game at Choonchun, Kangwon Province on March 3. She resettled in South Korea in 1999, and nobody could guess that she was from North Korea. However, she says that she has broken up with a boyfriend because she was a North Korean defector.
Ms. Hwang said, “My boyfriend said it was okay, but I did not want him to have conflicts with his parents because of me.” She also said that she does not want to date anyone whose parents do not approve of the relationship.
Hwang Bo Young, in her second year at Korea Physical Education University, has had a hard time adjusting to the language in South Korea, which includes a lot of foreign language. Especially in classes and on tests, she cannot understand certain words.
However, she said, “People in higher grades at my school are younger than me, which makes it a bit hard for us to get close. However, I want to be active in school.” She sounded hopeful as she said, “I was focused on sports before I entered college. However, I think school will be a big part of my life.”
“I Want to be a Counselor for Youth after Graduation”
Majoring in ”Youth Education”, she is already a counselor for those around her. Her family members as well as ice hockey players look to her when they have problems. She always takes care of problems of the people who look to her.
“One of the underclassman came to see me for her future. I went to see a professor and did some research to enroll her in a graduate school.” She smiles as if her own problems are taken care of. After graduation, she wants to focus on counseling the youth. Hwang Bo Young is also on the national ice hockey team of South Korea.
She expressed her disappointment at the indifference of the South Korean society toward the gold medal that they won after they won three games in New Zealand.
“We came back from New Zealand only to find one bouquet and one banner. People are very indifferent about ice hockey and the players lose motivation because they feel like winning the game doesn’t count for anything.”
She smiled with emptiness as she said, “I think North Korea is better in this respect although the environment is worse.”
She also pointed out the picture that the South Korean media gives about North Korean society. “I saw a clip on North Korean society, and I felt like it was not right. They were showing only a part of Pyongyang where things are better than other areas, and it would be wrong to present it as if North Korea is actually like this. There are so many people living lives worse than this.”
She is the oldest among her siblings, and she loves her sisters very much. She listens to their problems and takes care of their wardrobe every season as well. She also didn’t forget to say that she could rely on her sisters as well.
When asked about her plans. She said, “I want to go abroad as an exchange student and broaden my horizons.” As she bit on her lips, she said, “I am preparing for the future little by little.”
Even though North Korean players were cold to her at the Aomori Winter Asian Games in 2003 in Japan, she was there at the North-South ice hockey game. She said, “I could not watch the game until the end because I did not want to cause any harm due to the attention of the media.” She also expressed that she missed her friends, as she said, “I have a friend who I used to play ice hockey with, and I know that she got married. I wonder the most as to how she is doing.”
