color="blue">Interview of Ms. Kim Yeongok by Lee Naeun

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">Hyesan new bride

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Kim Yeongok is a thirty year old young woman who just married
another North Korean refugee. During five years of living in South Korea, she
learned and adapted to this whole different society. Without losing her beautiful
smile until the last moments of the interview, Yeongok illustrated the dynamics
that she experienced throughout her life.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Born and raised in Hyesan, a city near the northern boundary of
North Korea, Yeongok was taken to an orphanage run with government funds after
her parents passed away; she spent most of her childhood in the orphanage. But
the support was insufficient for her to live a comfortable life. In the second
grade she had to transfer from regular elementary school to another school where
all the orphans in the city were accumulated. From that time on, she attended
that school for eight years from elementary through secondary school.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Elementary school classes in North Korea were from 8:00 in the
morning to 12:00 noon. Secondary school students held class from 8:00 to 4:00
in the afternoon. From 12pm to 2pm was lunch period and the rest was devoted
to class time. There were approximately 40 to 50 students in each class and
the ratio of male to female students was nearly equal. Many classes were similar
to those in South Korea - such as Korean or Mathematics - but there was a unique
subject called "nature." In Nature, students learned about biological
creatures and different kinds of herbs and weeds in their surroundings.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Overall, the school atmosphere in North Korea was not different
from that of South Korea in 1970s. Teachers were strict and harsh to students;
when students did not do required assignments, teachers inflicted corporal punishment
to discipline them. Because of extremely strict regulations and punishments,
students never thought of violating those rules. style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;">“ lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">So-called 'troublemakers' were never be found in our school because
the punishments were so harsh. No one dared to violate the teacher's commands. lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;">” lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy"> Despite this harsh environment, the students were allowed some
degree of freedom. Yeongok explained that she hung around in groups and played
with her best friends in school, which is not different from students in South
Korea nowadays.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">After school, Yeongok came back to the orphanage and did household
chores, such as cooking and drawing water from a well. Some children from wealthy
families got private lessons or learned how to play an accordion after school.
Yeongok, however, could not afford to take expensive lessons. Government funds
were so insufficient that she even had to use worn-out, hand-me-down books because
new textbooks were rarely given out.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">After ten years of school life, Yeongok became a member of lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;">“ lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Dolgyukdae (stormtroopers).” lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy"> These North Korean stormtroopers are quite different from normal
troopers. Members are not soldiers, but ordinary adults who build houses or
repair roads without pay. Not only orphaned workers are required to join, but
also others volunteered to do that job in order to become a party member, after
spending three years in the troop. While in the troop, Yeongok had a chance
to think seriously about her future. Her conclusion was that there would be
no opportunities for her if she stayed in North Korea as a trooper. There was
nothing for her to lose because she was from an orpahange and she had nothing
literally. She wanted to cultivate a future for herself; this inspired her to
leave North Korea.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Escaping from North Korea was tough indeed. Along with one of
her friends, Yeongok succeeded in crossing the northern border into China. She
made her living working as a charwoman for a Chinese family. She still could
not live a comfortable life as she did not have an identification card. Since
she was an illegal immigrant in China, she was nervous about getting caught
all the time, even when she was walking down the street. After spending many
uneasy days in China, Yeongok eventually travelled to South Korea via Thailand.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">I could get an ID card!

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">When I asked her, “Why did you end up choosing South Korea as
your second home?” Yeongok immediately replied as if the answer were obvious,
“I could get an ID card.” South Korea was the only country that considered
her and other North Korean refugees as legal citizens and gave them an identification
card. In other countries, she would have been regarded as an illegal alien,
always anxious about being caught by the government. South Korea was the one
and only choice left for her to live a proper and legal life.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">As she had expected, life in South Korea was conspicuously different
from that in other countries. Her life became more comfortable. She could live
with confidence as she had become a citizen of South Korea. She wouldn’t have
been able to adapt to the new country, if she had never met Rev. Chun, the Pastor
and Principal of Durihana International School. According to Yeongok, Rev. Chun
was a generous person who helped her in many ways to adapt to the new environment.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Christianity was the very first religion in Yeongok's life. Previously,
she had had no chance to learn or have any religious exposure. Having any religion
was strictly banned in North Korea. The only beings that could be treated like
gods were Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un - the three-generational
Kim regime. Even kindergarteners had had to learn the style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;">“ lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Juche ideology (deification of the Kims); style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;">” lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy"> North Koreans are required to have blind faith in the Kim regime.
According to her, most North Koreans were so indoctrinated that they even memorized
the birth dates and personal events of all three Kims. These three Kims were
holy, sacred beings that no one could dare to criticize.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">It was difficult for Yeongok, who had lived in North Korea during
most of her life, to abandon this belief and become a Christian. It was possible
only thanks to the pastor's unconditional support. She kept thanking him for
providing her diverse opportunities in this new land. She appreciated his unconditional
help to achieve her dreams and goals. His generosity was the main factor that
led her to believe in the existence of Jesus Christ and God and to eventually
become a Christian. Wanting to know more about Christianity, Yeongok started
to attend church and Mass. She gladly added that she was working hard to become
a sincerely devoted Christian.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">To study is the easiest!

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Introducing Christianity was not the only thing that Rev. Chun
did to help Yeongok. As she had postponed her studies for several years, Yeongok
dreamed of attending South Korean university to continue her studies. Therefore,
the first thing she started after settling in South Korea was to prepare to
enter a university. The teachers at Durihana International School had greatly
helped her from paper reports to GED test preparations. Thanks to their help,
Yeongok would enter her dream school and major in her favorite field - social
welfare. She volunteered to work in the Durihana International School kitchen
once a week to return what she had received from the Principal and Pastor Chun.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Even though she had been absent from school for several months
because of her marriage, Yeongok still wants to study hard and become a social
welfare worker. “As I have been through hard times, I believe that I would
understand other’s wounds and difficulties.” She dreamed about her future
as a social welfare worker. However, despite efforts to understand others sincerely,
there were difficulties in establishing friendships among peers at the university;
it was easier to study than to make friends. She assumed that the problem was
her North Korean accent or her age because she was older than the average student.
Yeongok was deeply hurt by those unexpected problems; she still sensed that
this problem would not be resolved in a short time. She concluded bitterly that
this problem is inevitable between North and South Koreans due to cultural differences.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">In this context, I asked her another question. lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;">“ lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">If the two Koreas reunite, do you think that North and South Koreans
could blend well?” lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy"> She answered with two simple statements: one, most Koreans want
reunification deep down in their hearts and two, the process of blending will
be a long and painful one because of actual differences.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Yeongok explained that the overall atmosphere in North Korea regarding
reunification is that most North Koreans sincerely want the two Koreas to reunify;
they believe that North and South Koreans share the same identity. Confused
about some “threats” by North Korea toward South Korea, I asked her to explain.
Her answer explained everything: North Koreans actually regard Americans as
the enemy. The North Korean animosity of threatening South Korea with ballistic
missiles was, not towards South Korea, but towards America. Yeongok said other
North Koreans were brainwashed in school to believe that the North and the South
can truly reunite once we drive out Americans from the South.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">If reunited, the biggest potential social issue would be that
all North Koreans would face the same problems that she herself faced as a North
Korean defector. Approximately 65 years of separation created inevitable differences
between North and South in culture, language, and other fields. “Overcoming
problems of those differences is one of the biggest goals of a reunited Korea,”
said Yeongok. Narrowing the economic gap between the North and the South will
become another area we will need to grapple with in a reunited Korea.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초?拈芼?mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">I thanked her for her time answering my questions in a detailed
manner. Then we gossiped a little. I was personally curious about her and her
hobbies; she replied that her new hobby was cooking. Even though she didn't
like to cook in North Korea, she had changed when she learned many diverse recipes
after coming to the South. She loved movies and listening to songs. She planned
to enjoy contemporary culture now that she had more time after marriage.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Yeongok asked me several things. She was curious about my age;
what I was learning; what was I majoring in. I shared that I am a 19-year-old
high school student who intends on majoring in journalism. I also confided that
she was officially my first interviewee as, prior to her, I had only researched
and written articles.

lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">To interview someone like Yeongok was an unforgettable experience.
I was fortunate to have Yeongok as my interviewee, a North Korean defector.
She generously understood my awkwardness during our interview and kindly answered
every question in great detail. She willingly provided anecdotes on issues that
might have been uncomfortable for her. She recalled past experiences that might
have been too painful for her. I had intentionally avoided mentioning these
topics, but I was surprised and thankful that she freely answered them. It was
an immense pleasure to interview an individual who had undergone very hard times,
times that I dared not to imagine.