I wrote this article at the departure gate of Vladivostok Airport in Russia. All direct flights to and from Vladivostok have been suspended due to the Russia-Ukraine war. With no alternative but to go through a third country. I chose Uzbekistan.
A chance encounter
One hour after finishing departure procedures, I boarded the flight to Tashkent. I couldn’t help but sigh at how difficult the journey home had become. I came simply as a traveler, yet found myself feeling inexplicably insecure and nervous. All I wanted was to leave as quickly as possible.
Yet I witnessed something surprising at the departure gate. On the electronic display showing upcoming flights, the words “Koryo Airlines” and “Pyongyang” clearly appeared. I was quite taken aback that Koryo Airlines had flights to Pyongyang twice daily, especially when international flights from Vladivostok were so limited. A local official mentioned that many Russians now visit Pyongyang as tourists. Among the passengers were also numerous North Korean laborers returning home.
Indeed, I had frequently spotted North Korean workers purchasing goods at Vladivostok’s markets before their departure. The sad reality, I learned, was that half the seats on flights to Pyongyang were reserved for foreign tourists; North Koreans themselves couldn’t access them. Unfortunately, since I was leaving Vladivostok that day, I couldn’t witness the Koryo Airlines flight arriving from Pyongyang the next morning, nor meet the people boarding for Pyongyang. Perhaps this is what we might call the sorrow of coming from a divided country? Part of me wanted to delay my departure just to see them.
During my few days exploring Vladivostok, I frequently encountered North Korean laborers at virtually every construction site across the city. Most work orders and conversations at these sites were conducted in the North Korean dialect. I even overheard workers lamenting that the work was so grueling they felt they might die, especially given the enormous foreign currency quotas they were required to meet.
Stark divide
News reached me that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae had visited the Russian embassy in Pyongyang. While some suggested this represented official diplomatic activity by Kim’s daughter, it seemed more like an unusual public appearance by a dictator and his child. May 9 was celebrated like a festival throughout Russia, with events commemorating Russia’s World War II victory held in every city. Even in Vladivostok, a delegation from the North Korean consulate participated in local commemorations. This seemingly demonstrated the unprecedented closeness between North Korea and Russia. Vladivostok buses displayed advertisements recruiting tourists to North Korea, and locals could be overheard discussing how tourism to the country would increase once a bridge over the Tumen River opens.
Kim Jong Un now appears to place all his hopes on Russia, as if it were the only other country in the world. Meanwhile, the hardships faced by North Korean laborers sent to Russia continue to mount. Behind Kim’s smile lies the suffering of these workers, who toil day and night to fulfill the state’s foreign currency demands. When will these people finally experience democracy, human rights, and economic prosperity? This injustice of suffocating people in the name of “foreign currency earnings of loyalty” must end now.
