Meeting North Korean Defectors and Trip to 38th Parallel JSA

October 24, 2011                                        

I had the opportunity of meeting two North Korean defectors last Friday through a program sponsored by my graduate school. It was my first time to actually meet defectors. There are more than 20,000 of them now living in the South. The two who were introduced to us were recent defectors, Kim Il-Sung University-educated Mr. Kim who defected in 2009 after being assigned to Eastern Europe as a North Korean diplomat and Ms. Jang who bravely crossed the Yalu River to get into China just last year. It was really a rare opportunity. The two shared their experiences and lives in the North. When it was my turn to throw a question, I cautiously asked what happened to their families back in the North when the regime knew about their defection. They said their families were sent to concentration camps as sort of punishment. They however revealed that if their family members are still alive, they could still get them to be sent to the South by paying some 6,000,000 won/person (6,000 USD), secretly. Apparently, there is some sort of corruption involved between the North Korean soldiers and the Chinese soldiers along the border. Ms. Jang worked as a Chemistry teacher in a public school outside of Pyeongyang while Mr. Kim discovered the wonders of capitalist markets in former communist Eastern European countries as a diplomat.

 This South Korean soldier is literally stepping on a North Korean territory inside a UN building at the JSA.

They revealed that there is no internet access in North Korea, at least among ordinary citizens. However, these days, some of them do get KPOP music, drama and movies quite too often through DVDs. By what means? That I did not clearly
understand. They were of course speaking in Korean and we had one of our classmates (Korean) as interpreter. Apart from KPOP, North Koreans are unaware of the things happening outside their country. Basically, they just confirmed the things that we already knew about life in North Korea.

Apart from our direct encounter with those defectors, we also listened to some lectures on North Korean Reunification Issue. The program concluded through a visit to the Panmunjom Joint Security Area managed by the United Nations (US and South Korea) and North Korea. It is just actually a few hours away from Seoul. On our way, we saw a North Korean flagpole, which, at 160 meters in height, is the tallest in the World. On our side was South Korea’s 100 meter-flag pole. Below the North’s flag pole is a propaganda village filled with nice looking mid-rise buildings to encourage defection from the South.

The soldier won't move.

Tall, good-looking South Korean soldiers patrol the area. I would assume, it was one way to show North Koreans that South Koreans eat healthier food, sufficiently and live better lives. Soldiers there, both from the North and the South were really on alert of any possible conflict. It is sad, they had to be suspicious of each other when they should be defending the same nation, the same people. Security was tight and so taking photographs was strictly monitored and even banned in most areas. As I was trying to comprehend and absorb all the learning that day, I was emotionally struck when we passed through a bridge known as “the bridge of no return.” It was built as a way to repatriate prisoners of war during the Korean War. The UN repatriated more than 85,000 POWs while the North and the Chinese repatriated around 13,000. Imagine, the bridge of no return and the sad stories that took place there. I would say South Korea’s war experience partly contributed to its quick rise as an economic powerhouse in Asia. 

The JSA Receiving Area and Museum

Guarding the UN Flag.

On this table negotiations between North Korean and UN forces happen.

Countries that sent troops to aid the South.

That building is a North Korean manned structure. Behind those windows are security cameras and surveillance telescopes.

A marker of the 1976 Axe Murder Incident

In this area, North Korean and South Korean soldiers stand face to face.

Me just playing around.

The Bridge of No Return. Photo from the Internet.

A marker commemorating the Philippines participation in the Korean War. The country sent more than 7,000 troops to defend democracy.

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