[MUSIC]
Today I would like to tell you about, I would like to tell you
a story about the most reclusive place on Earth My home country of North Korea.
In this land of fear and desperation, three generations of
families still can be sent to labor camps for the most ridiculous offences.
Like someone simply tries to access outside information and
see the outside world out of the hermit kingdom.
As a child growing up to the next to the Chinese border,
I was lucky to receive outside information.
And one day I decided to take risk and turn it into the great unknown.
As a curios high school student who lived simply and
quietly under the Kim Dynasty, I could have never foreseen the drastic changes
in my life that were to follow those dramatic steps across the border.
Now more than 50 years later, until [UNKNOWN] and for hardship and
triumphs, I'm here to share my story with you and the lessons I've learned.
From the moment I was born, I was fed propaganda and
I viewed the Kim Family Dynasty, not only as our fearless protectors from
the imperialist pure realist the forces, but also as gods.
Growing up, I never thought our country's founder Kim Il Sung could even go
to the bathroom like us humans.
It wasn't until age 14, when I saw his funeral, I realize he was actually human.
Until that moment, I thought our god couldn't die.
Using elaborate deceptions as well coercive tools of control,
the North Korean leaders were able to indoctrinate and
brainwash the vast majority of it's citizens,
depriving them of their natural right to learn the truth about the outside world.
Most people can't understand why North Korean people are crying after
their former dictators, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il died, but
those who grew up there, we completely understand that.
We first to learn to say mum and dad, when we are young children, and
then say thank you to all of the leaders.
Previously, when I thought they were gods, I didn't think it was strange,
just as eating three meals a day was normal, so
I thought bowing to their pictures and singing their praises was osonomer.
As a North Korean, we can't say bad things or complain about the leaders and
we can't call their name exactly without putting any specific titles and
we can't have exactly same name as the leader.
So, even if an old man who is called Kim Jung Un for
his entire life but now he was to change his name.
North Koreans are constantly inundated with
antiimpurest propaganda especially against America.
From the kindergarten we learned that the Americans are our primary enemies for
killed many innocent North Koreans during the Korean War.
So,even these days, most Koreans have learned that Americans are colonizing
South Korea and executing South Korean students, so our hostility towards
Americans were so high, and we considered that they are not as normal human beings.
So, they are the person who wants to kill them off.
We also learned that British are considered gentlemen in North Korea and
Americans are bastards.
[LAUGH]. We really never learned why
British are considered gentlemen.
And so, therefore every schools we had,
all the schools we hang posters about killing American soldiers.
And every year on Children's Day we played a game about,
how to stab American soldiers.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
Norse, norse skill authorities demand a complete loyalty and
submission to the system. And
those few refuse are considered enemies of the state,
and they are suffering horrific human rights abuses.
For example, there have been, on numerous case in my hometown,
where entire family disappeared at the middle of the night.
One of the family members complains.
One of who my friends fathers says simply to his best of friend.
This is time is unfair.
He was sent to political prison camp while his family was removed, forcibly removed
to desolate mountainous areas where it is extremely difficult to survive.
Many people in prison camp, they even didn't know why they were sent there, and
they are completely stunned when they are dragged out of their homes and
thrown into prison ruining their lives forever.
We also have mandatory self-criticism sessions,
which in we must criticize our friends, and neighbors, and classmates.
In addition, to the numerous snitches and informants paid by the government.
So the system comploly, completely destroys the trust within society and
even between husband and wife.
Because after they divorced,
one person could tell to the government about the other person's behavior.
Many of you may compare this situation to the study in Eastern Germany, where in ti,
where a wife find out that after German reunification, what,
the her own husband was spying on her the entire time.
In North Korea, an estimated 200,000 of people in prison camp, and one of, one of
my distant relatives actually experienced this horrible fate in North Korea.
He came to North Korea during the 1970s from China, and he thought North Korea
was going to be a communist utopia as the North Korean government advertised.
But, after that he realized the advertising was not true and
he decided to cross back into North Korea again, but
unfortunately he was caught by the border guards, and he sent to the prison camp.
He was sentenced to 30 years, and his son was only a baby at the time.
After he grew up,
he visited him several times to see his father in the prison camp.
But, every time he was denied to access.
His father never freed, and eventually after he died,
his son even couldn't retrieve his body for a proper burial.
Also when I witnessed my first public execution when I was I
was seven years old.
I was stunned to see a crowd gathered around a man hanging form a bridge.
The [UNKNOWN] authorities want the people live in a constant state of fear, so
they forced us to watch public executions.
So, sometimes the schools cancelled the classes so
all the students could witness the public execution, and attendance was mandatory.
Sometimes people were even executed for very minor offenses such as,
a man who stole one kilogram of grain from the farm to feed his starving family.
Most know authorities offer in prison, those who are trying to escape, or
make money in China to support their families back home,
it supposedly Socialist the system provides no support and
forces people into miserable life of poverty and hunger.
Even though the people who saw the public execution were usually terrified,
we accepted the public execution as part of our life automatically,
since we didn't know anything about the cause of the human rights.
So, the executions were a constant reminder that I
shouldn't do anything to disobey our government.
Ordinarily, the biggest killer in North Korea is starvation,
which has killed more than million lost and people.
By the middle 1990's, I started notice that people around me was suffering.
One day in 1995, I went to my friend's home during the lunch time
after the school, but the family didn't, didn't prepare anything for the lunch.
So, I complained to my friends that whenever she come to my home,
my family fed her meals, even snacks.
So, I thought their family was very stingy.
She reluctantly showed me her family's kitchen and
showed me a pot that had barely anything inside of it.
I was stunned, and still I don't know what was inside exactly but I kept thinking
at the time myself this isn't food for humans, why don't they have normal food.
But few months later,
I discovered that the answer when I read the when I read a letter from a woman
about her whole family was dying because they didn't have any food for weeks.
They had no energy, and no hope, so
the five family members were lying on the floor together and waiting to die.
I was so shocked.
This was the first time I heard that people in my country were suffering.
My most vivid memory from the family was when I was so
lifeless woman lying on the street while embracing a child in her arms.
Does the spirit help his mother's face?
I was so
sad and I placed some money by the childs leg but I knew it wouldn't last.
At that time, when I saw so many people dying in Beijing on the streets, I began
to thought that my country's propaganda demonstrate is the best in the world.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
We were always taught that the capitalism was
a sickness that would cause societal decay.
But, I didn't see how Communism could be better when people are dying and
begging in the street.
Even our teachers had to stop the teaching so
they can earn a little more the money from the market.
Still at the time,
I didn't know they we were suffering due to all the government failed system.
And I believe there was a propaganda that we
are only suffering only because of American sanctions.
And I press our leaders to protecting us and doing their best for us.
Fortunately, information from beyond
the regime's control would slowly help open my mind.
Since I lived right next to Chinese border, and
amazingly, our televisions could pick up a few Chinese TV channels.
And, as I watched it secretly, I became overwhelmed with curiosity.
And for our dreams about the outside world, although even watching TV
was a problem because of a constant power source disease.
And night sounded by darkness, and poverty, and starvation.
I often gazed across the river at China's brilliant street lights and
there were signs.
And I gradually realized that my country is not the best in the world.
I have been lied to all my life.
After this revelation, I was
determined to leave North Korea to find out the truth about the outside world.
For North Koreans trying to cross the border is a huge risk, and
some people died trying.
Border guards will shoot to kill sometimes I
saw dead bodies floating down the river during the famine.
Luckily, my family had some connections to the border guards in my area so,
it wasn't hard for me to cross the border at all.
I could have never imag,
I thought I couldn't quickly come back from my journey to China, it, I couldn't
have never imagined that it would take 14 years until I would see my family again.
After arriving in China, I began to learn the truth about my country, and
I was stunned to learn that all the history I learned was for propaganda.
Most importantly, I realized their life of fear,
hunger, oppression, is a crime against the North Korean people.
Although, I began to get a sense of freedom in China,
I was also terrified, since the Chinese government will capture and
repatriate North Koreans into that, th, horrible fate back in North Korea.
So, even in China, I wasn't really free.
After three years of living under the radar, someone eventually reported me,
so I was taken to the port of substation.
The interrogators were grilling me for
a long time and forced me to read difficult Chinese newspapers.
I acted calmly on the outside but
inside my heart felt it was like, like going to explode.
If I failed to convince them I was Chinese,
my family and I would be in huge trouble.
Thanks to the countless hours I spent studying Chinese.
At the time, my Chinese language abilities were good enough to
answer those difficult questions and read the papers.
After what seemed like a eternity one official said to another,
this was the first reports.
She's not a North Korean.
And they let me go.
It was a truly a miracle.
I just quickly decided to move to Shanghai since it's a big city and
without many [INAUDIBLE] in the factors, so
it would be difficult for the Chinese supporters to find me.
So, inside I started new life again and
with all my hard work I purchased Chinese I.D.
cards and eventually I was able to get job at a trading company.
After ten years of living and struggling in China.
I decided, that I wanted to see the differences between
the North Korean Propaganda and the life in South Korea with my own eyes.
So I got a visa to South Korea.
In 2008, in South Korea’s inte,
international airport, I asked them for asylum.
And four officials approached me and they took my documents, clothes,
and they asked me with suspicious eyes, your Chinese passport and visa are weird.
Are you really a North Korean?
They thought I was a Chinese citizen, impersonating North Korean.
>> [LAUGH].
>> To receive associate citizenship.
So they want me to go back to the Shanghai, to the next airline, is,
I will do receive student punishment under law, law, and then be deported.
I couldn't believe in, even in South Korea, I am in danger of being repatriated
to China and then be to North Korea, where I might be tortured and
publicly executed for being, for visiting to South Korea.
Thoughts were racing through my mind.
Was this all like, was this all mistake that I came to South Korea.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
After a long investigation in National Intelligence Service,
that lasted three months, I was finally accepted as a North Korean, and
I was finally released into [INAUDIBLE] society six months after I first arrived.
My first day as a South Korean citizen, there was a huge burden for
me to adjust another new life again.
I was still very grateful, because at least I have a citizenship,
a place to sleep and assistance from the government.
In China, I started with nothing and I worked my way up.
So I reassured myself I could overcome this difficult time.
But settling down in South Korea was a lot more challenging than I had expected.
North Koreans and South Koreans look similar on the outside, but
inside we were changed due to more than sixty years of division.
Throughout this time our lifestyle and
culture, even languages have become different.
And North Koreans have to endure prejudice and icy stares from some South Koreans.
So many North Koreans, try hard to hide their identities.
Especially when they're looking for jobs.
After many years of hiding my identity in China, I was hurt and disappointed
that I need to have to hide my identify, identity again in mother land too.
And then I went to serious identity crisis.
And another surprising aspect of life in North,
in South Korea was that I had to face yet another language barrier.
I already experienced a language barrier in China, but
I could never imagine to the English would be so important in South Korea.
So I had to start learning my third language.
While I was studying for
the university entrance exam, suddenly, one day, everything changed.
I heard that my family in North Korea had a serious problem by the government, so
I had no choice but to risk my life by helping them to escape.
I went back to China and
I secretly awaited my family on the Chinese border with North Korea.
After 14 years, I would finally see my family for the first time in person.
My mother had faked her own death and paid a doctor to forge the death certificate,
while my brother used his connections to the border guards to get them across.
When I finally met them on the Chinese border with North Korea, I was really
excited, but we couldn't even embrace each other for fear of getting caught.
So until we got to the hotel, we didn't say any word.
After we were finally safe in hotel, I was so
sad because my mom and brother looked fearful.
They were soaking wet and shivering.
And especially my mom looked very old.
She told me the stress was almost unbearable.
We couldn't stop crying and hugging and
stay up whole night to talking and I told them, full details of my plan.
We would travel China by bus, and
then cross border into Laos, and then seek asylum in Soska embassy.
We stayed a few more days, so everyone could regain our energy.
But we didn't have much time to waste.
We had a long and journey ahead of us.
The day we choose to depart was a horrible day, and at the time I didn't know that.
It was China's National Day,
so there was a huge Chinese police presence taking IDs on all the buses.
Within the first five minute depart, depart-,
departure, our bus was stopped, for the inspections.
The military soldier boarded, and he's starting taking ids,
while he's looking at, it's, pa, passengers' eyes, in, in the eyes.
I couldn't believe our bad luck.
My brother, he was only unfortunately,
he was the only male passenger on the bus, at the time.
And he was also stood out since he's thin he has, he was thinner and
he had the darker skin colors compared to the other Chinese men in his, in his age.
Because North Koreans, we never used any sun cream.
And he pretend to be a slave but
are, so the soldier are walking directly towards my brother.
My heart found, pounding was so fast and in myself, I found myself in panic.
I knew if I don't do anything in that situation, it will not probably end well.
I had to do something, but what?
I froze, and my heart and my body turned to stone.
As the soldier approach I was, kept asking myself what can I do?
What can I do?
The guard was so close now, and just a few more steps left.
And so then I found the answer and
[UNKNOWN] in front of him and I put the cameras in his face.
And I started taking pictures of him.
He became, he was stunned and I,
and I started taking more pictures of him and I, and he became furious.
Don't you know it's illegal to take pictures in this kind of situation he
yelled, in Chinese, so I gave an innocent smile and said
I'm sorry I didn't know it's illegal since I've never seen anything like this before.
I will delete them right away.
And every passengers on the bus was staring at us between him and
he was flustered and turned around and he ran off of the bus.
I was so relieved, but the long and difficult journey had just begun.
After the long, after the first bus ride, we took a short break.
And we started another long bus ride.
That would take between 16 to 18 hours.
Again, our bus was stopped.
Eight hours later, after the departure.
This time, there was a Chinese police officer.
He demanded all the Chine-,
all the passengers' id cards.
And questioning names and asking questions like, where is your home town?
Where are you going?
And why are you going there?
Like this.
It's obvious that he is looking for chi, North Korean defectors.
My heart sank. Even though my mom and
brother have a Chinese i d cards that I borrowed from some Chinese, but
they can't speak Chinese at the time, so.
Soon my brother's fake name was called, the Chinese police
officer demanded my brother to come up to the front to meet him.
My brother just froze and I noticed his face turned completely dark.
It was like nothing I've ever seen like this before.
He called my brother's name second time and then a third.
He was clearly annoyed.
And I just pushed on my brother to get off.
But I, saw my brother was shaking with a fear.
It was a really hurt me at the time, so I spring into another action once again.
I told the police officer, he's deaf and dump, and I'm his chaperone.
He looked at me with suspicious and in disbelief.
As I was just trying to explain, I heard grunting noise behind me.
It was my mom, pretending to, pretending to be a mentally challenged person.
>> [LAUGH].
>> She's with me too, I said.
She's also deaf and dumb.
I told the police officer.
He looked absolutely shocked and after an awkward silence,
he mumbled, there are too many deaf and dumb people on this bus.
And he turned around to the bus driver and
ticket taker, he asked, is this true?
And those two person was visibly annoyed by the long delays and
quickly assured him that it was indeed true.
He looked at me in disbelief.
He got off the bus, and we started to move again.
As my family and I returned to our seat, every single passenger was staring at us.
At the time it occurred to me, actually my family and
I had been talking Korean the entire time.
So every passenger in the bus.
They know that my mom and brother weren't deaf and dumb.
But amazingly, they didn't say anything.
It was another miraculous moment in the journey.
And I'm so thankful to those passengers, that they didn't expose us.
So, for the rest of the journey three of us
sat in silence and even after the bus ride was over.
The overcoming stress made us too difficult to talk to each other.
After the two, after dodging two huge bullets on the previous ride,
I decided to quickly move to the last part of the journey,
and we took yet another bus to Sauze.
Now we had traveled more than thousands of kilometers
from the snow capped mountains of Northeastern China into the [INAUDIBLE].
As we approached the near the border,
we felt growing sense of excitement, since the end seemed to be,
seemed to be in site.
However, the journey had heat, had to take its toll and three
of us lost a lot of weight and couldn't cope well with the scorching heat.
Our energy was nearly depleted, when finally pulled into the last bus station,
near the border.
I had arranged the, for the brokers, so he could take my family to the,
into the Laos since I don't know the way.
I met him at the last bus station and we said our goodbyes and
I told my family I will, I will see them soon back in South Korea.
I reassured them and exhausted, we parted ways.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
In the next morning I took a taxi.
I thought my job was done, but
just as I was approaching the airport, my cell phone rang.
Your family was called after crossing the border into Laos, and
they are probably taken to the prison in [UNKNOWN].
It was a broker.
Wrong what I asked.
I never even heard what the Laos until I started planning this journey, and
certainly I don't know anything about the country.
He said in the past the captured, North Korean defectors were taken to there and
it's about 40 kilometers from inside, from the border.
And he said he couldn't hear me anymore and he just hung up the phone.
My head started spinning and the energy zipped out of my body and
I slumped into the seat.
Immobilized by hopelessness.
And I told the taxi driver to turn around and to go to the border area.
Now I am going to go and I asked some random people for the directions and
finally looked at the border areas of Lao immigration building.
Looking to the mountains around the border, I was guess, I was trying to
guess which mountain my family had crossed because I wanted to have a,
some kind of feeling, to connect that they are still, are still near me.
I was in a cab looking at the mountains, and
I was trying to connect my brother and my mum to Seoul, and
I couldn't stop thinking if I would have a chance to meet them again in my lifetime.
Maybe their souls were lost on the mountain that day.
Finally, I walked across to the immigration line and
I noticed a pole, one man was standing behind me.
And we took the same bus to the [UNKNOWN] but I didn't pay any attention to him.
Little did I know this man would soon change my life.
After arriving in [UNKNOWN], I spent four weeks between, going back and
forth between the law immigration and
police station to, desparatingly trying to make negotiate my family's release.
I bribed them every days, but they, the authorities wouldn't release them.
And one day, after many days later they told me if I
pay fine per person, with the US dollar, then they can release my family.
But at that time my cash was running very low because already I k,
borrowed, twice from a friend in South Korea.
I just went to coffee shop to think what to do, well,
I could not find any good options.
I was so depressed and the whole world seemed so dark.
But luckily, a bright ray of sunshine came into my life when I needed it most.
Excuse me, are you a traveler?
I just to wondered if people live stay here for
a few days while I saw you a few weeks ago.
He was the po white man from the bus.
I only knew a little English, and even though I couldn't completely understand
him, but we started communicating with my cell phone dictionary.
After he heard my story, he looked quite surprised.
And he made quick phone call with his friend and he told me he wouldn't hurt me.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
Why would a total stranger be help us like this?
So many people in my life have been deceitful and manipulative.
Please wait for me here, he said.
I wasn't even sure if he would come back.
But, soon he come back with a fist full of cash, By the way, my name is Dick.
Then, then it hit me, I even didn't know,
I even hadn't known his name.
Eventually we went to prison together and released my family and
three other North Koreans came from the same prison.
My mother, for us to look them in, in disbelief.
And then run like the wind to embrace me.
She was sobbing and awful, she looked very awful.
But at least we were together again.
After that I decided to bribe, to pay some police official.
So we could get a ride to capital of Laos without being stopped.
But eventually we were betrayed.
Instead of taking us to the [UNKNOWN] embassy, they handed us to off,
some security officers.
For arrested my mom and brother once again.
Then, stunningly, I was interrogated, accused of human trafficking for merely
trying to help North Koreans reach safety, and I, ordered to pay another fine.
The officers on Laos were exploiting us in every way possible.
I finally resolved the,
the issue by even more borrowing from a friend in South Korea.
And I had to leave the country immediately while my family rotten in prison for
another three months.
And followed by three more months waiting in South Korean embassy.
After my finally, my family finally arrived in South Korea,
they had to spend a total of six months in
interrogation center and [UNKNOWN] facility.
So, in total, I had to wait a full year after leaving Laos until I
could finally meet them again.
After arriving in South Korea, I thought about the kind, Australian man, [UNKNOWN].
After he paid the fine for my family,
then he found out that I didn't even have enough money to go back to South Korea, so
even he paid my airplane ticket, at the time.
So I thanked him with all of my heart and I asked him why are you helping me.
I'm not helping you, he said, I'm helping [UNKNOWN] people.
His good deeds changed my life completely.
Before meeting him I thought the whole world was so cold to me.
But at the moment I realized that the life is still worth living and I believed
that the answers not only in novels or movies that their working among us.
It was a huge realization for me and
because of his actions I got to where I am today.
Unfortunately we lost contact after I left Laos, but
amazingly he saw my TED talk last year, so he was able to contact me once again.
So we were eventually reunited on an Australian TV show, and
we are still talking to each other these days.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
Most [INAUDIBLE] have experienced a lot of pain, and we are sometimes awkward
in the outside world, since we lived such a sheltered lives.
And, but still we are doing our best to laugh and sometimes at ourselves.
One time a North Korean [INAUDIBLE] friend, she started eating an unpeeled
banana in public, since she never seen anything like that before.
As everyone around her was [UNKNOWN] and stopped, she felt so
embarrassed, but now it’s a funny [INAUDIBLE] between us.
My mom also had some funny moments since arriving in South Korea.
The very first day of freedom in South Korea, my mom and
I went to an ATM to withdraw some cash to buying some clothes,
but she just stood there.
She's staring at the machine for a while.
So I asked my mom and a, mom, what are you doing?
And she said, I can't understand this machine.
How is the money come to the so fast?
And how even the worker fit inside?
[LAUGH] The little man has to work there all day?
And even without a window.
[LAUGH] I just burst out laughing and
I told her this was the machine, and there is nobody inside.
[LAUGH] We can only laugh about this kind of instance because it helps us to realize
how ridiculous life is North Korea has truly become.
But, sometimes, we wondered if,
how different life would be if we were born somewhere else.
While I was living in China, I was, always thought if I had been born in there,
it would be one hundred times better than living, than living in North Korea.
Even though China has many problems, but the situations compared to
North Korea much better and for the average, the life is much stable.
But since we couldn't, we can't choose our parents, when my mom birth gave to me, and
I first open my eyes, I thought my fate was grow up in North Korea.
In reality, Communists of the North Koreans
are suffering simply because of the sin of being born in North Korea.
But looking back, due to the adversity,
I became more matured and learned many virtues like wisdom, strength and bravery.
I didn't feel angry whenever I encountered hardship that I couldn't change.
Instead I lived my life overcoming obstacles and
dealing with adversity instead of complaining.
Because I realized i couldn't change the situations in front of me but
I could only determine my response, and that has been very empowering.
It's an epic, it was an epic epiphany to realize that
the constant obstacles in my life were not actually blocking my road.
That they were showing me a new path.
So, I urge you all to truly appreciate the country
you were born, and the opportunities you have.
And gathered here in this beautiful facility,
clearly we have all been given much, therefore much is expected of us.
So when we find somebody in need, let's lend a helping hand and
be good Samaritans, using our talents to make this world a better place.
I finally, I hope you also remember, when if you encounter a hard obstacle,
don't think of it as an obstacle at all.
Think of it as a challenge to find a new path on the road less traveled.
Thank you for listening.
[APPLAUSE] Thank you.
>> Thank you so much, Helmsa
for sharing your story.
We really appreciate you being here.
We're now gonna take questions from the audience.
Ryan and Michael are going to pass around microphones, please stand up,
introduce yourself very briefly, and
also please take in to consideration Yunza, is a non native speaker.
So please speak slowly, and succinctly.
[BLANK_AUDIO]
>> Thank you very much for speaking to us, my name is ah,Tom.
Myanmar was a similarly, or was a very repressive regime as well.
And in the last, sort of five years Myanmar has changed a lot.
Do you see hope for North Korea?
>> [BLANK_AUDIO]
In this case, it's hard to compare any like a BMO or China or
Germany's situation because North Korea is a completely different situation,
because the North Koreans are the most brainwashed people in the world.
And-
[BLANK_AUDIO]
What was the question?
I just-
[LAUGH] Yeah, there's even though North Korea is a really [INAUDIBLE] country but
still its taint in the society because of, because of the young generations.
When our parent's generations, they are more believing the what
the government says but the young generation, which is my generation,
because of the glottery information from into North Korea from the border areas
like a [UNKNOWN] dramas or movies and musics it a happens to change their minds.
But, still it's hard to say that society is, because of this is,
we can't see the huge pictures for the, even though the,
the young, the emergence of young leader Kim Jong-un, and.
Even though younger generations in the society, their activities,
we can't all see their differences because
all the higher ranking positions officers are from the old generations.
So after they change, replaced from the younger generation,
then we can hope for some changes but not yet.
That's my answer.
All right, thank you for coming today, my name is Yemi.
I just wanted to find out,
what do your family, what jobs do they have, right now, career?
And also, you mentioned it's diff-
>> In South Korea?
>> In South Korea.
And you mentioned that it's difficult for
people come from North Korea to get jobs in South Korea.
So I'd like to know what jobs do most of these North Koreans,
who are now in South Korea, do?
>> You know, even North Koreans are, in South Korea,
we share the simpler, we consider the one country.
But obviously we are treated as a refuge, you know, it's a diff,
it was, as I said in the special, we look similar on the outside but
inside we have changed because of the long separation.
So especially when, it's the same as different other countries with refugees,
so North Korean's situation is the same in South Korea.
This they can't find bec [UNKNOWN] because especially North Koreans have
lack of education from South in North Korea.
Because we didn't have proper education or lots important top schools.
And they relived completely like a Communist system.
And then when they, asylum to South Korea which is a 70 years gap and
then there's a capitalists.
From communists from capitalists system they moved at one time, and
then the economy gap was kind of even measure of how big so.
And in North Korea people they don't have, they.
Don't have own decision, to make a decision living in South, in North Korea.
Because always, government to tell them to what to do,
you do this, do that, blah, blah like that.
So, but very, when we move to South Korea, there's nobody just to let them do this,
that, or blah, blah, so they make, they should make own their decision.
Which is a, seems.
Totally free.
But since who never tasted the freedom, for them it’s really difficult to have
the freedom to make all their decisions in every single way.
So there’s a, a lot of side effect for that.
So because of the lack of something.
Knowledge [INAUDIBLE] so the only way they can get a job is something difficult jobs.
Which is, most of [INAUDIBLE] that they don't wanna work in
that kind of a work place.
But no [INAUDIBLE] would be pressed to make that.
Yeah.
Is having hard time.
But still, I want to have positive opinion for that Is change.
When I arrived in South Korea 2008 like South Koreans
treat North Koreans more like alien.
But, because they never heard about the North Korean business,
not that common through the media.
But.
over the time, it's 2014, over time, there's many North Koreans who are giving
a public speech and, they are doing a lot of activities in different ways.
And, especially there is a North Korean woman's talk show in North,
in South Korea.
So in many ways it's helped to North South Koreans to Get to know North Koreans
more and so it's their hostility or just prejudice becoming less,
but we need have more time to make this gap more close and need to time
[BLANK_AUDIO]
>> Thank you for coming.
I read an excellent book on North Korean refugees, by Barbara Demorick.
It's called Nothing to Envy.
It, it was Just such a revelation for me.
I think what surprised me most,
was after the North Koreans arrive in South Korea we Americans think,
oh now everything is perfect and it's Disneyland and there are no more problems.
And what struck me was the culture shock.
That you have talked about.
And, I was amazed at just how difficult is it for
the North Koreans to enter into South Korean society or Western society.
Is there any way you can see.
That can facilitate that?
You mentioned the TV shows, and now people are starting to, have more awareness.
But I just was hoping there was some, solution you
see that can speed the process, or ease the process for the North Koreans.
>> Yeah.
Mm.
There's many NGO's, actually trying to help North Korean people get out of China.
There's a lot, but actually they are focusing most inside North Korea but
there's a less NGO's focused on North Korean refugees living in South Korea.
Actually there are also suffering a lot of problems,
also they are suffering in terms of human rights and in terms of financial system,
e, especially it's hard to get job in South Korea.
Even university student after graduate, it's not,
even South Korean students it's hard to get a job, these days.
So, North Koreans more have more difficult cha,
chance even, they graduate from school so.
Actually I was think about that person many times.
That is exactly why I wanted to do it to fit her.
Because we need to, more give help hand to North Korea refugees,
because there are like a mother living in South Korea right now, but
they are having a hard time that's a good propaganda from North Korean regime to
North Korean living inside North Korean people like oh North Korean
are people in South Korean they are suffering blah, blah like this.
So it's a really good propaganda tool for them,
so I want to North Koreans are having a better life, a better situation that now.
So, for them I think need international help, coming in to help.
Especially like, in terms of, English, programs,
something because, may, many of my friends, especially when they,
if some went to America to study abroad even for six months or one year,
after they come back to South Korea they have eno, enormous proud of that.
Like, you know,.
And the, also it's good.
It looks good for the resume, and they can learn English.
But it's too the tense is really [INAUDIBLE] for North Koreans Is really
hard to get to study abroad in America Is in English, speaking English country so.
I hope there's a possibilities just to help North Koreans refugees,
give them one more chance to study or
to learn something in the international community then it's really help for them.
>> All right, we're going to take one last question.
>> Thanks for coming today and sharing your remarkable stories.
I'm Kent.
I'm one of several members of this community who
have actually visited North Korea as tourists and
I wanted to ask you, because I know, before making that decision to go.
Some of us, struggle.
We think on one hand maybe we're helping North Korean people because we're
coming from the outside world and giving people exposure.
On the other hand, some of our money goes to the government.
So what do you think, as someone who's lived there and
is now working for improvement of people's lives in North Korea.
Do you think it's good for foreigners to visit North Korea, or
do you think it's bad?
>> Actually I'm the person who's against the foreign tourist to Pyongyang because.
Some people think, maybe it's the, North Korea, it's good for
them to go they, they somehow learn about America by looking something.
They have some different ideas.
But as North Korean, what we learnt from the, from the Kindergarten exactly.
We also, we see the medias of this, everything through the TV.
And then when we see a lot of foreigners visiting North Korea we have
the wrong ideas.
Wow, the foreigners respect our government a lot,
and like they're, like the ideal leader, blah, blah.
So, so our, we just feel our country is the best in the world.
That.
That's another propaganda tool the Northern government uses, so, yeah.
So, it's, and another way, as you said,
like a kind of a soft policy, or like a hard line,.
Many people I think, If you tried sense of
policy in the past it didn't work and then we also tried hard policy it didn't work.
So I want to have something mixed together, not frugal this way or
the other way.
We need mix, but one thing we should know, even though there is
a sanctions these days, and even though there is no help from the outside,
something help, aid, for North Korean people still there is a middle class,
it's a raised in North Korea which means that many people in
North Korea after the famine they didn't, rely on the government.
They're earning money by themselves from the plant market or
markets so they didn't rely on the government totally right now.
So Individually they started to have money right now and
then, we support the North Korean,
we support the regime not the ordinary people yeah, that's my answer.
[LAUGH].
>> Ladies and gentleman, please join me in thanking [UNKNOWN] [APPLAUSE]
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