The death of Hwang Jang Yop on October 10th has led to great grief within the North Korean defector community in South Korea.

As Hong Soon Kyung, the chairman of North Korean Defectors Association, stated with a choking voice yesterday, “I cannot explain the feeling of grief that I feel. It is sad and poignant that he has passed away without achieving North Korean democratization.”

Kim Seung Chul, the president of North Korea Reform Radio, pledged to continue his work, saying, “Chairman Hwang acted as a godfather for North Korean defectors and the North Korean democratization movement. In future, activities for North Korean democratization should proceed from the younger generation’s creative and innovative perspective, in the new environment.”

Before his death, most North Korean defectors went through an eye opening experience about Hwang after they entered South Korea. In 1997, while an entire region of North Korea was full of people dying of starvation, Hwang’s defection to South Korea was a ‘shock’ to the North Korean people.

To the people living inside North Korea, Hwang Jang Yop’s life can be summarized as follows;

“Originally, Hwang Jang Yop was from a land-owning family which was made a target in our revolutionary battle. He was the son of a big land owner; however, his family was categorized as a conscientious land-owning family, so, instead of being purged, he went to study in Moscow under the generous policy of the Supreme leader and the Chosun Workers’ Party, and served as a key official in government.

The reason he was imbued with such trust was that there was a lack of outstanding individuals during the period of building a new country after liberation. Even though he had a suspect background, he was a conscientious and talented economist. So, he was selected and eventually rose to the top.

However, in 1997, after the Supreme leader passed away and while the General was trying to protect our socialism, he betrayed the nation and abandoned his family for his own well being.”

At the time, Hwang’s defection left behind fury and a feeling of loss. However, when Kim Jong Il then purged his whole family, there was a lot of opposition.

The rumors at the time suggested, “Due to Hwang’s defection, all of his family, even distant relatives, have been sent to a ‘completely controlled area’ (political prison camp).” The leadership did not try to control this rumor, since they were not against the terror it engendered.

However, the reaction within the leadership was somewhat different. They did not express themselves publicly, of course, however, many leaders had a quite a lot of doubts.

One defector, a former Party man in North Hamkyung Province, recalled, “At the time, there were doubts as to why Hwang Jang Yop, who was trusted by Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il and was in a powerful position, would betray his nation and risk his life; this was being discussed between officials. Especially his students, who had directly witnessed his academic spirit and attitude while he was serving as president of Kim Il Sung University, could not reach a conclusion easily.”

Up to the present day, Hwang is the only person who has chosen this path and faced down the possibility of death at the hands of North Korea. Numerous individuals have died under the Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il systems, of course, but there has been no public figure like him before. Therefore, Hwang left behind an inexplicable mystery for many North Korean officials.

For the time being, a re-evaluation by the North Korean citizens themselves will only be possible after the collapse of the Kim Jong Il-Kim Jong Eun system. Until then, North Korean defectors are the only people who can relay the details of why Hwang gave up everything and defected to South Korea along with his desperate words and resolution to fight for the North Korean people.

On this, a North Korean defector community leader believes there is something the community can do. “The activity of explaining the background to Hwang’s defection and his achievements afterwards to the North Korean citizens in leaflets or broadcasts is worth reviewing,” he said.

He added, “Hwang was disgusted with North Korea’s worship toward one idol, so he tried to avoid his presence being promoted to the public excessively. Now, I believe it is our duty to pass on the legacy Hwang left behind to the North Korean people. “