Experience North Korea For Yourself!

[imText1]I suffered for about a month, performing forced labor at the Chongjin detention facility. Then one day the guard opened the cell door and shouted, “Come out, Dae Sung!” There was no one there to visit me; at that moment, my whole body tensed.

My cellmates enviously said to me, “You must be going home now. Let’s meet up once we get out”. When I got to the interrogation room, the police in charge of residence relocation were waiting inside. Although I was ecstatic about leaving the abominable Chongjin detention facility, the dangerous situation that awaited me passed before me like a scene from a movie; I would be tried as a “traitor” and then sent to a re-education center once I returned to my hometown.

“You, you rogue, you’re still alive, huh?” The policeman’s remark pierced my heart like a dagger. The people with whom I traveled were the policeman in charge, the town security guard, and an officer. Under their supervision, I rode a rickety train toward my hometown.

“This land has forsaken me”

On the third day of the trip, the train arrived at the Geocha Hill of South Pyongan province. Because of the steepness of Geocha Hill, the trains naturally slow down while trying to ascend. When the train slowed, almost to the point of stopping, after having looked at the windows, I jumped out of the train. I heard the security guard shout out, “Catch the traitor!” and all of the passengers turned their eyes to me.

Although I hurried to make my way into the mountains, my legs were not strong enough to run quickly because I had not eaten for several days. The security guard, the train attendant and the army on board the train caught me.

The train had to stop because of me. There was a large commotion and the engineer reported to the train’s commanding officer that “a passenger had attempted to escape”, demanding that the train be stopped. Ultimately, I was caught by the scruff of my neck, not having been able to go too far. I was kicked and beat mercilessly by many, many heels and lost consciousness soon thereafter. The security guard said that I would try to escape again if he only used handcuffs, so he tied me up with rope as well. They did not give me food nor water.

It was around one in the morning. The train stopped as the electricity went out. There were only a couple more stations left until we reached the Suncheon transfer station in South Pyongan province. And I knew that once we transferred, my fate would be sealed – first my hometown, and then jail.

Thinking this was my last chance, I started snoring, pretending to sleep, in order to give the guard a false sense of security. Having stayed up for several days straight, they took a few drinks and went to sleep as well. I began to rub the rope against the radiator and was able to free my hands from the binding. Then I silently opened the door and stepped barefoot onto the stoop.

I had successfully escaped, but first of all I had to free myself from the handcuffs on my wrists. I rummaged the streets until I found a thick nail and then headed for the mountains. I was hastily sharpening the nail on a boulder when a girl who was digging up roots saw me. The girl looked at me strangely, dropped her basket and hurriedly began running towards town.

I could not stay there any longer. If the girl reported me to the security office through the reporting system, I would be caught again. I was running deliriously, going through bushes, when I dropped down on the grass. “I cannot live in this land anymore. How did I ever become a traitor?” I sat there, bitterly lamenting. Just thinking about it made me realize what an unfortunate fate it was.

I succeeded in sharpening the nail to a point and getting rid of the handcuffs. I still have the scars from when I twisted my wrists to free myself. I became a free bird once again, and began heading north, towards China.

How I met with, then part with, the unforgettable president

Within one week of escaping from the train, I crossed the Tuman River again. I went straight to meet the Chinese president of the quarry where I had worked. The president’s eyes widened when he saw me, and he showered me with compliments, saying how much I must have gone through to come back. I told him that since the northeast area was dangerous, I would go to Tianjin. I asked him to help me out with travel expenses. He gave me 500 Yuan ($65).

I used that money to travel on the Yanji-Tianjin train. Although I arrived in Tianjin, I could not find any place in China where I could settle down. I wandered about, from Tianjin and Shanghai to Suzhou, trembling in fear.

Then one day I saw an ad for a Korean company that was hiring in Suzhou. I was given an interview, but because I did not speak Chinese well and also because of my weak body, they did not take me. After being rejected from the interview, I decided firmly to meet and earnestly appeal to the Korean president of the company.

At the front entrance, I stopped the president of the company and pleaded, “I am a North Korean defector. Please help me”. Through this, I ended up being employed by the company with the president’s guarantee and was also able to get surgery to fix my broken toe.

I had my second and third toes broken, having been hit by rocks when I was in northeast China. I had no money at that time to treat it, and after awhile, the toes began to rot.

The president, upon seeing me limping, asked me what had happened. At the president’s order, I was taken to a hospital and was told that if I did not get surgery, they would have to cut off the toes. The president offered to pay for the surgery and requested them not to cut off the toes; because of this, I was able to get surgery.

Not long after I left the hospital, the Chinese security police came to the company. During that time, China had begun the “Daji Heisegui 100-day fight”; the “cleaning-up of the hoodlums”.

The Chinese security police had reports that Korean trading companies were protecting North Korean defectors so they frequently came to check up on the North Korean defectors. If I had gotten caught, the company would have been required to close down its operations. The insults of not having a country increased daily, and there was nowhere that I could call home.

The president of the company told me that since I had already made up my mind to go to South Korea, I should go towards Thailand or Vietnam. He then gave me 2,000 Yuan ($260) and told me to go. I was very grateful to him.

“North Korean Human Rights, the Way to Preserve Basic Human Rights”

After I arrived in Guangzhou in February of 2003, I left for Kunming, in China with other North Korean defectors. The road to South Korea was difficult, but it was the only way to freedom.

We wandered through the mountains for close to a month, through the jungles of the China-Laos border in 30 degree (Celsius) heat, avoiding crocodiles and poisonous snakes. Later on, I heard from a fellow defector in a jail in Thailand that there were North Korean defectors who died after being bitten by crocodiles and snakes.

While we were aimlessly wandering through the backlands of Laos, with no destination in mind, we were caught by the Laotian police. We requested them to transfer us to the South Korean embassy and fasted for a month. We were finally deported to the Mekong River near the border area of Thailand. During that time, the Laotian police were thinking of sending us back to China, but thanks to the efforts of South Korea and various human rights organizations, we were freed.

We were smuggled into Thailand and finally got on the train to Bankok. Only then were we finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. The escape from North Korea, the time spent in jail and my sufferings in China seemed to vanish in one breath.

We arrived in Bankok on May 20, 2003. We were granted an interview with the UNHCR. The immigration office jail was filled with people wanting refugee status from Africa and Southeast Asia.

Here I came across the 1948 Citizens Freedoms and Rights Act, the international statement that clarifies universal human rights and values, and states that the UN recognizes defectors as refugees.

The important thing was the power of “Korea” that I felt while I was in jail. The people in Tanzania would raise their thumbs when they heard the word “Korea”. Upon hearing that South Korea made it to the semifinals in the World Cup, I was able to feel pride in our race and keenly realize that South Korea was a place where I could find freedom.

After entering South Korea, I spent my time at “Hanawon” (a resettlement education center for North Korean defectors). The day I left, I received my South Korean citizenship card and cried tears of joy. I am currently enrolled at Yonsei University studying management.

Right now, there are many people around the colleges who think that the North Korean human rights activists ultimately have some kind of political motive. However, I believe that in order to protect universal human rights and values, the truth needs to be told about North Korean human rights. For anyone who ignores the misery occurring in North Korea while crying “pro-North Korea”, I want to ask them to experience North Korea for one week.