The North
Korean women who had to escape twice
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By Su-Min Hwang color="olive"> Korea
editor 18 January 2019
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△ Screenshot
of Jiyun on the sexcam site [ color="olive">Image copyright color="olive">Chun Kiwon]
color="navy">Trafficked into the sex industry after defecting from North Korea,
two young women spent years in captivity before finally getting the chance to
escape.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">From the third floor of a residential tower block in the Chinese
city of Yanji, two young women hurl their torn up, knotted bedsheets out of
a window.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">When they pull the sheets back up, a proper rope has been tied
on.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">They climb out of the window and begin their descent.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“Quick, we don't have much time, style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">” urges their rescuer.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Safely on the ground, they turn and run to a waiting people carrier.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">But they are not yet out of danger.
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△ Screenshot
of Mira on the sexcam site [ color="olive">Image copyright color="olive">Chun Kiwon]
color="navy">Mira and Jiyun are both
North
Korean color="navy">defectors and, years apart, both were tricked by traffickers.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">After crossing the border into China, the same people who helped
them to escape North Korea, known as color="blue">“ color="navy">brokers color="blue">” color="navy"> in the smuggling trade, handed them over to a sexcam operation.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Mira for the past five years, and Jiyun for the past eight, were
confined to an apartment and made to work as style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“sexcam girls” color="navy">, performing often pornographic acts in front of a live webcam
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△ Screenshot
of Mira on the sexcam site [ color="olive">Image copyright color="olive">Chun Kiwon]
color="navy">Leaving North Korea without the regime's permission is illegal.
And yet many risk their lives to escape.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">There is safe refuge in South Korea but the strip of land between
North and South Korea is heavily militarised and filled with mines - it's nearly
impossible to defect directly.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Instead, many defectors have to turn north and cross into China.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">But in China, North Korean defectors are considered lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“illegal immigrants” color="navy"> and are class="story-body__link">sent back if caught by the authorities. style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Once back in their homeland, defectors are subject to torture
and imprisonment for their “treason against the Fatherland”.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Many defectors fled during the mid 1990s when a severe famine
known as The Arduous March caused the death of at least one million people.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">But since Kim Jong-un came to power in North Korea in 2011, the
total number of people defecting each year has fallen by class="story-body__link-external">more than half. color="navy">This decline has been attributed to class="story-body__link">tighter controls at the border and brokers increasing
their price.
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color="navy">Mira defected when she was just 22.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Born close to the end of the famine, Mira grew up in a new generation
of North Koreans. Thanks to a growing network of underground markets, known
locally as Jangmadang, they could access DVD players, cosmetics, fake designer
clothes, as well as USB sticks loaded with illegal foreign movies.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">This influx of materials from outside helped persuade some to
defect. The films smuggled in from China gave a glimpse of the outside world,
and a motivation for leaving North Korea.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Mira was one of those affected.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I was really into Chinese movies and thought all men from China
were like that. I wanted to marry a Chinese man and I looked into leaving North
Korea for several years.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Her father, a former soldier and party member, was very strict
and ran the household to a tight schedule. He would even occasionally beat her.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Mira wanted to train as a doctor, but this was also stopped by
her father. She became more and more frustrated and dreamt of a new life in
China.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“My father was a party member and it was suffocating. He wouldn't
let me watch foreign movies, I had to wake up and sleep at exact times. I didn't
have my own life.”
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△ Fences
run along the Tumen river
color="navy">For years Mira tried to find a broker to help her cross the Tumen
River and escape over the tightly controlled border. But her family's close
ties to the government made many smugglers nervous that she would report them
to the authorities.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Finally after four years of trying, she found someone to help
her.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Like many defectors, Mira didn't have enough money to pay the
broker directly.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">So instead she agreed to be color="blue">“sold” color="navy"> and work off her debt. Mira thought she would be working in a
restaurant.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">But she had been tricked. Mira had been targeted by a smuggling
ring who recruit female North Korean defectors into the sex industry.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">After crossing the Tumen River into China, Mira was taken directly
to the city of Yanji where she was handed over to a Korean-Chinese man she would
come to know as color="blue">“the director”.
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△ color="olive">Mira (C) and Jiyun (R) travelled to a nearby safe house color="olive">[Image copyright
Chun Kiwon color="olive">]
color="navy">The city of Yanji lies at the heart of the Yanbian region. With
a large population of ethnic Koreans, it has become a busy hub for trade with
North Korea, as well as one of the main Chinese cities where North Korean defectors
live in hiding.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Women make up a large majority of defectors. But with no legal
status in China, they are particularly vulnerable to being exploited. Some are
sold as brides, often in rural areas, some are forced into prostitution or,
like Mira, into sexcam work.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Arriving at the apartment, the director finally revealed to Mira
what her new job would entail.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">He paired up his new recruit with a style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“mentor” color="navy"> who would share her room. Mira was to watch, learn and practise.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I couldn't believe it. It was so humiliating as a woman, taking
off your clothes like that in front of people. When I burst into tears, they
asked if I was crying because I missed home.”
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△ color="olive">Mira (L) on the South Korean sexcam site [ class="off-screen">Image copyright color="olive">Chun Kiwon]
color="navy">The sexcam site, and most of its users, were South Korean. They
would pay by the minute, so the women were encouraged to hold the men's attention
for as long as possible.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Any time Mira wavered or showed fear, the director would threaten
her with being sent back to North Korea.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“All my family members work in the government, and I would be
bringing shame to the family name if I returned. I'd rather vanish like smoke
and die.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">There were up to nine women in the apartment at any one time.
When Mira's first roommate escaped with another girl, Mira was put together
with another group of girls. This is how Mira met Jiyun.
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△ color="olive">Jiyun
color="navy">Jiyun was just 16 when she defected in 2010.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Her parents divorced when she was two, and her family fell into
poverty. She stopped going to school at 11 so she could work, and finally decided
to go to China for a year to bring money back home.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">But like Mira, she was also tricked by her broker and not told
she would be doing sexcam work.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">When she arrived in Yanji, the director tried to send her back
to North Korea. He said she was color="blue">“too dark and ugly” color="navy">.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Despite the situation, Jiyun did not want to go back.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“It's a kind of work that I despise the most, but I risked my
life in order to come to China so I couldn't go back empty-handed.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“My dream was to feed my grandparents some rice before they leave
this world. That's why I could endure everything. I wanted to send money to
the family.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Jiyun worked hard, believing that the director would reward her
for her good performance. Holding on to the promise that she would be able to
contact her family, and send money back to them, she was soon bringing in more
money than the other girls in the house.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I wanted to be acknowledged by the director, and I wanted to
contact my family. I thought I would be the first girl to be released from this
work if I was the best in the house.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">She would sometimes sleep for only four hours a night, in order
to hit the daily target of $177( color="navy">￡ color="navy">140). She was desperate to earn money for her family.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">At times Jiyun would even console Mira, telling her not to rebel
but to try to reason with the director.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“First, work hard,” she would tell Mira, “and if the director
doesn't send you home afterwards, then you can reason with him.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Jiyun says that during the years she was earning more than the
other girls, the director favoured her a lot.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I thought he genuinely cared for me. But on the days my earnings
went down, the expression on his face would change. He'd tell us off for not
trying hard, and doing other bad activities such as watching dramas.”
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△ All
of Jiyun's possessions after escaping from the apartment
color="navy">The apartment was closely guarded by the director's family. His
parents slept in the living room and kept the entrance door locked.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">The director would deliver food to the girls, and his brother
who lived nearby came every morning to empty their rubbish.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“It was a complete confinement, even worse than a prison,” lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy"> says Jiyun.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">The North Korean girls were allowed outside once every six months,
or if their earnings were high enough, once a month. In those rare moments,
they did shopping or went to get their hair done. But even then, they were not
allowed to talk to anyone.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“The director walked very close to us like a lover, because he
feared we would run away,” color="navy"> says Mira. color="blue">“I wanted to walk around as I wished but I couldn't. We weren't
allowed to speak to anyone, even to buy a bottle of water. I felt like a fool.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">The director had appointed one of the North Korean women in the
apartment to be a color="blue">“manager” color="navy">, and she kept an eye on the rest when the director was away.
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△ color="olive">All of Mira's possessions after escaping from the apartment
color="navy">The director promised Mira that he would marry her to a good man
if she worked hard. He promised Jiyun he would let her contact her family.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">When Jiyun asked him to release her, he told her that she would
need to earn $53,200 to pay for her trip. He then told her that he was unable
to release her because he could not find any brokers.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Mira and Jiyun never saw the money they earned through their sexcam
work.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">The director initially agreed to give them 30% of the profits,
and they were to receive this when they were released.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">But Mira and Jiyun became more and more anxious as they realised
they might never be free.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“Killing myself is not what I would normally think about, but
I tried to take a drug overdose and tried to jump from the window,” lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy"> says Jiyun.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">The years went by - five for Mira and eight for Jiyun.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Then a sexcam client of Mira's, who she had known for three years,
took pity on her. He put her in touch with Pastor Chun Kiwon, who has been helping
North Koreans defect for the past 20 years.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">The client also remotely installed a messaging application on
Mira's computer, so that she could communicate with the pastor.
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△ color="olive">Pastor Chun Kiwon receives a text to confirm Mira and Jiyun are
safely over the Chinese border
color="navy">Pastor Chun Kiwon is well-known among North Korean defectors.
North Korean state TV frequently attacks him, calling him a lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“kidnapper” color="navy"> and a color="blue">“con-man” color="navy">.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Since setting up his Christian charity Durihana in 1999 he estimates
he has helped about 1,200 defectors to safety.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">He receives two or three rescue requests a month, but he found
Mira and Jiyun's case particularly distressing.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I've seen girls who've been imprisoned for up to three years.
But I've never seen a case where they've been locked up for this long. It really
breaks my heart.”
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△ A
North Korean state broadcaster discusses Pastor Chun
color="navy">Chun claims the trafficking of female defectors has become more
organised and that some North Korean soldiers guarding the border are involved.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">The trafficking of women is sometimes referred to as the "Korean
pig trade" by the locals living in the border region of China. The women's
price can range from color="navy">hundreds to thousands of US dollars.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Although official statistics are hard to obtain, the UN has raised
concerns about class="story-body__link-external">high levels of trafficking of North Korean
women.
color="navy">The US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report
has consistently designated North Korea as one of the class="story-body__link-external">worst human trafficking nations.
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△ color="olive">Pastor Chun Kiwon talks to Jiyun via the sexcam site color="olive">[Image copyright
Chun Kiwon color="olive">]
color="navy">Over the course of a month, Chun kept in touch with Mira and Jiyun
on the sexcam site, posing as a client. That way, the girls could pretend they
were working while planning their escape.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“Usually imprisoned defectors are not aware of their location
because they are taken to an apartment blindfolded or at night. Luckily, they
[Mira and Jiyun] knew that they were in Yanji and they could see a hotel sign
outside.”
he says.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Working out their exact location from Google Maps, Chun was able
to send a volunteer from his organisation Durihana to scout out the apartment
ahead of the escape.
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△ color="olive">The main routes taken by defectors wishing to escape North Korea
and seek asylum in South Korea
color="navy">Getting out of China is dangerous for any defector.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Most want to get into a third country, and to a South Korean embassy,
where they will be granted a flight back to South Korea and asylum.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">But travelling across China without ID is dangerous.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“In the past, defectors could get away with travelling with fake
ID. But these days, the officials carry around an electronic device which can
tell whether the ID is real or not,” color="navy"> color="navy">explains Chun.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">After escaping from the apartment, Jiyun and Mira began their
long journey across China with the help of Durihana volunteers.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Without any ID they could not risk checking into a hotel or hostel,
and so were forced to sleep on trains or spend sleepless nights in restaurants.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">On the last day of their journey in China, after enduring a five-hour
climb up a mountain, they finally crossed the border and entered a neighbouring
country. The route and the country they entered cannot be named.
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△ color="olive">Jiyun's hands marked by scratches after a five-hour mountain
ascent over the Chinese border
color="navy">Twelve days after escaping from the apartment, Mira and Jiyun
met Chun for the first time.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I think I'm perfectly safe only when I receive citizenship in
South Korea. But just meeting pastor Chun made me feel safe. I cried at the
thought of having found color="blue">freedom,“ color="navy"> says Jiyun.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Together, they travelled by car for a further 27 hours to the
nearest South Korean embassy.
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color="navy">Chun says some North Koreans find the final part of their journey
particularly difficult to bear, unused as they are to car travel.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“The defectors often get car sick and sometimes faint after vomiting
so much. It's a hellish road, travelled by those seeking heaven.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Just before arriving at the embassy, Mira smiles nervously and
says she feels like crying.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I feel like I've come out of hell,” style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy"> says Jiyun. color="blue">“Many feelings come and go. I may never see my family again if
I go to South Korea and I feel guilty. That was not my intention of leaving.”
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Together the pastor and the young women entered the embassy gate.
A few seconds later, only Chun returns. His job is done.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Mira and Jiyun will be flown directly to South Korea, where they
will undergo a rigorous screening process by the national intelligence service
to make sure they are not spies.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Then they will spend up to three months at the Hanawon resettlement
centre for North Koreans, where they will be taught practical skills to adjust
to their new life in South Korea.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">Defectors learn how to do grocery shopping, how to use a smartphone,
are taught the principles of the free market economy and receive job training.
They can also
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy">receive counselling. Then, they will become official citizens
of South Korea.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I want to learn English or Chinese so I can become a tour guide,” lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="navy"> says Mira when asked about her dreams in South Korea.
lang="EN-US" style="mso-fareast-font-family:함초롬바탕;mso-font-width:100%;letter-spacing:0pt;mso-text-raise:0pt;"> color="blue">“I want to live a normal life, drinking coffee in a cafe and
chatting to friends,” color="navy"> says Jiyun. color="blue">“Somebody once told me that the rain will one day stop, but for
me, the monsoon season lasted for so long that I forgot the sun existed.”
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△ color="olive">Now safely over the border Mira (L) and Jiyun (R) look back towards
China