Fleeing North Korea

My hometown is Hoeryŏng in North Hamgyong Province, quite well-known in North Korea. Kim Jong-suk, the wife of Kim Il-sung and the biological mother of Kim Jong-il, was born there. She is also the grandmother of Kim Jong-un. There are always visitors to remember her.

I was born there in 1977 to a very ordinary family in North Korea. My father was a minor official at the time, so we had no problems making a living, my mother worked as a nursery teacher. After school, we helped around the house.

“I had no choice but to believe the government’s propaganda”

I wasn’t good at studying, so after finishing high school exams and graduation, I joined the military, despite my parents’opposition. And since being a Party member is a crucial foundation for having the opportunity to become an official and pursue bigger dreams, I became one.

My unit’s task was to store, manage, and guard war reserve supplies. We learned to handle weapons and underwent training. Overall, I had no choice but to believe the government’s propaganda. I was constantly indoctrinated that I must be ready to sacrifice my life for the leader. Looking back now, I realise I lived like a human weapon, a mentally deformed being.

After finishing my military service, I returned home in 2002, only to find that the house I had left eight years earlier had vanished. Our home, right next to the railway tracks, had been demolished. This happened because after Kim Il-sung died and Kim Jong-il took power, he declared that he could visit his mother’s hometown anytime. In preparation for his potential arrival by rail, new, impressive apartments were built even though millions were starving.

“North Korea is not a country. It’s a vast prison”

I eventually found where my parents were living, aged and frail. The government’s solution was to provide them with a dark underground dwelling. My older siblings had all moved out and I needed to care for my parents, but I couldn’t. So, like many old friends and classmates, who could only manage to eat one meal a day, I decided to try to move to China to earn money for my family.

I crossed into China via the Tumen River. It was November and the water was freezing cold, tearing my skin. I had to wade and swim, sometimes going under in my bid to make it across. At that time, I thought I would earn money and come back to North Korea. Life in China was fundamentally different, people could afford basic necessities. I lived there for three years, until the Chinese authorities, who work closely together with their North Korean counterparts, caught me at an inspection and sent me back.

Back home I was sentenced as a traitor and served three years in prison, where I had to make wigs, products that were exported to China and other countries. Having experienced society in China and being influenced by South Korean movies and dramas, I had already made up my mind: if I survived and had the chance, I would escape to South Korea. And that's exactly what I did, crossing the Tumen River a second time.