North Korean defector: 'If you have money, you can do anything' | Human Rights | Al Jazeera
FEATURE
/
HUMAN RIGHTS
North Korean defector: 'If you have money, you can do anything'
In part four of the series on North Korean defectors, Um Yae-run sheds light on how brokers work in the country.
FEATURE
/
HUMAN RIGHTS
North Korean defector: 'If you have money, you can do anything'
In part four of the series on North Korean defectors, Um Yae-run sheds light on how brokers work in the country.
by Faras Ghani
22 Mar 2018
Um Yae-run is living in Seoul with her daughter [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]
Seoul, South Korea - Around 31,000 North Koreans have defected into the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Almost 71 percent of those defectors are female, most in their 20s and 30s.
Only a few take the most dangerous route through the Korean Demilitarized Zone that a North Korean soldier took late last year.
Most of the North Koreans defect via the long and expensive journey that takes them into China after crossing the Yalu River.
The journey takes them to China's southern border into Vietnam and Laos before they arrive in Thailand.
They are often flown into South Korea from Thailand.
Some even opt to go to the US, according to Liberty in North Korea, an NGO based in the US and South Korea.
But their arrival into South Korea does not signal an end to their worries and problems.
Part 1 - 'Korean government doesn't treat defectors as people'
Part 2 - 'I wish I can go back to North Korea for a day'
Part 3 - North Korean defector describes life at home through cartoons
In part four of the series, Al Jazeera speaks to Um Yae-run, a 41-year-old defector who now works at a marriage bureau and also as a broker.
She describes the routes and costs associated with fleeing North Korea.
"My aunt lived in the border region and managed to flee to South Korea through China.
"Three years later, she contacted me through a broker to try to get me to come over. I pondered over it for about a month. I didn't want to leave but eventually, in 2009, left my daughter and mother and fled.
"The broker took me to the border but made me cross the river [at the border] in the middle of the day.
"It's not very big. There's a hole in the middle of the frozen river and North Koreans pump water to do their laundry there. I pretended to do the same and then the broker on the other side started yelling 'miss, put that down and run'. I heard that and ran.
"The border guards shot at me. I had learnt that you have to run zig-zag to avoid being shot and that's what saved me.
"From China, the broker took me to Vietnam. When we reached Hanoi we were in a motel for about four days. The brokers don't take one or two people but gather about 10 and move them together.
"We then took a train to the Cambodian border. We walked and then crawled for a kilometre, taking a road that was totally dark and empty except for some checkpoints.
READ MORE
Hopes fading for reunion of Korean families
"We waited for three nights in Cambodia. We then rode in a car to get to a ferry that crossed the river and were driven to the Korean embassy. They moved us to a church where we stayed for three months.
"A lot of people who come to South Korea become brokers. They work with brokers in China who work with brokers in North Korea.
"If someone in the South wants to bring a family member over, they will give the address of the person in North Korea so the South Korean broker who will pass it on.
"In North Korea, you can't trust anyone who says he's a broker. So we give the brokers personal information, like a code word, so the person knows who sent the broker.
"The person will then work with the brokers to get you to the border. If you don't live near the border you need to take a train for which you will need a licence. The brokers will pay to get you on the train and bribe the railway officials.
"In North Korea, if you have money, you can do anything. Once at the border, the broker will arrange a time for crossing the river. In the summer, you might swim with a black rubber boat or the boat might have a string attached to the Chinese side that the brokers there will pull.
"The brokers might also bribe the border patrol to tell them their shifts so they can cross over then. If they can strike a deal, it becomes easy.
"When I crossed the border, it cost me around 3m Korean won ($2,800). When my daughter came, I paid 6.5m ($6,000). Now, it costs almost 10m won ($9,300). Coming to South Korea will cost you around 15m won ($14,000). Crossing the border is the most expensive part. Rest is cheaper.
"After arriving in South Korea, I was interrogated by the intelligence agency for a month before they let me out. I decided to work as a broker because for every person you help, you made around two to four million Korean won ($1,800 to $3,700).
22 Mar 2018
Um Yae-run is living in Seoul with her daughter [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]Seoul, South Korea - Around 31,000 North Koreans have defected into the South since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Almost 71 percent of those defectors are female, most in their 20s and 30s.
Only a few take the most dangerous route through the Korean Demilitarized Zone that a North Korean soldier took late last year.
Most of the North Koreans defect via the long and expensive journey that takes them into China after crossing the Yalu River.
The journey takes them to China's southern border into Vietnam and Laos before they arrive in Thailand.
They are often flown into South Korea from Thailand.
Some even opt to go to the US, according to Liberty in North Korea, an NGO based in the US and South Korea.
But their arrival into South Korea does not signal an end to their worries and problems.
Part 1 - 'Korean government doesn't treat defectors as people'
Part 2 - 'I wish I can go back to North Korea for a day'
Part 3 - North Korean defector describes life at home through cartoons
In part four of the series, Al Jazeera speaks to Um Yae-run, a 41-year-old defector who now works at a marriage bureau and also as a broker.
She describes the routes and costs associated with fleeing North Korea.
"My aunt lived in the border region and managed to flee to South Korea through China.
"Three years later, she contacted me through a broker to try to get me to come over. I pondered over it for about a month. I didn't want to leave but eventually, in 2009, left my daughter and mother and fled.
"The broker took me to the border but made me cross the river [at the border] in the middle of the day.
"It's not very big. There's a hole in the middle of the frozen river and North Koreans pump water to do their laundry there. I pretended to do the same and then the broker on the other side started yelling 'miss, put that down and run'. I heard that and ran.
"The border guards shot at me. I had learnt that you have to run zig-zag to avoid being shot and that's what saved me.
"From China, the broker took me to Vietnam. When we reached Hanoi we were in a motel for about four days. The brokers don't take one or two people but gather about 10 and move them together.
"We then took a train to the Cambodian border. We walked and then crawled for a kilometre, taking a road that was totally dark and empty except for some checkpoints.
READ MORE
Hopes fading for reunion of Korean families
"We waited for three nights in Cambodia. We then rode in a car to get to a ferry that crossed the river and were driven to the Korean embassy. They moved us to a church where we stayed for three months.
"A lot of people who come to South Korea become brokers. They work with brokers in China who work with brokers in North Korea.
"If someone in the South wants to bring a family member over, they will give the address of the person in North Korea so the South Korean broker who will pass it on.
"In North Korea, you can't trust anyone who says he's a broker. So we give the brokers personal information, like a code word, so the person knows who sent the broker.
"The person will then work with the brokers to get you to the border. If you don't live near the border you need to take a train for which you will need a licence. The brokers will pay to get you on the train and bribe the railway officials.
"In North Korea, if you have money, you can do anything. Once at the border, the broker will arrange a time for crossing the river. In the summer, you might swim with a black rubber boat or the boat might have a string attached to the Chinese side that the brokers there will pull.
"The brokers might also bribe the border patrol to tell them their shifts so they can cross over then. If they can strike a deal, it becomes easy.
"When I crossed the border, it cost me around 3m Korean won ($2,800). When my daughter came, I paid 6.5m ($6,000). Now, it costs almost 10m won ($9,300). Coming to South Korea will cost you around 15m won ($14,000). Crossing the border is the most expensive part. Rest is cheaper.
"After arriving in South Korea, I was interrogated by the intelligence agency for a month before they let me out. I decided to work as a broker because for every person you help, you made around two to four million Korean won ($1,800 to $3,700).
"The first person I helped flee was my daughter. My mother didn't want that. She wanted me to get married in South Korea and start over. I had many suitors but after I brought my daughter over, they all left.
"When I came here, I saved a lot of money. I didn't eat, I didn't buy anything expensive. My clothes cost me 2000 to 4000 won ($1.8 to $3.7) and I also wore clothes that others gave me. When you receive free money, you don't realise how it's made. My mother acted like she was the mother of some rich daughter.
"I'm not in touch with my mother now. My siblings are there with her so might be okay. Sometimes I feel bad that we're not in contact, like I'm being selfish, and I'm sorry to my parents.
"I now work at a marriage bureau. We pair up North Korean women with South Korean or other foreign men. We bring the girls through personal networks. If there are girls around me who are single, I'll just bring them over and tell them there's a good client in my company."
As told to Faras Ghani and Hae Ju Kang
------------
'Father of defectors' on life after North Korea
In part one of the series on North Korean defectors, Al Jazeera speaks to YH Kim who fled his country in 1988.
by Faras Ghani21 Feb 2018
North Korean children are given free classes on the premises to help them settle down in South Korea [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]Seoul, South Korea - Around 31,000 North Koreans have defected into South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Almost 71 percent of those defectors are female, most in their 20s and 30s.
Only a few take the most dangerous route through the Korean Demilitarized Zone that a North Korean soldier took late last year.
Most of the North Koreans defect via the long and expensive journey that takes them into China after crossing the Yalu River.
This journey takes the individuals to China's southern border into Vietnam and Laos before they arrive in Thailand.
They are often flown into South Korea from Thailand. Some even opt to go to the US, according to Liberty in North Korea, an NGO based in the US and South Korea.
But their arrival into South Korea does not signal an end to their worries and problems.--------------
In the first part of the series, Al Jazeera speaks to Kim Yong-hwa, 64, who fled North Korea in 1988, formed the North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea in Seoul to look after those who continue to arrive and face difficulties settling in and is hence called by some as the Father of Defectors.
"I joined the Korean People's Army in 1970 but left to work on a railroad safety project a decade later.
"In 1988, there was an accident and I was [accused] of not being loyal to the state. If I had stayed, I would've been shot in public just like the four others who were also blamed for the accident.
"So I fled to China before going to Vietnam, where I was caught carrying a gun. I got help in escaping but was caught again by the police who put me in a detention centre. There were only two flights a month to North Korea, so, while at the centre, I assaulted an officer with a food tray and was sentenced to two years in prison.
WATCH38:19
Thae Yong-ho: Interview with a North Korean defector
"I spent almost two years there and then managed to escape by attacking a guard who came in to give me food.
"If you're trained to be like a captain in the army, you have the basic navigation skills. I managed to arrive in Laos, where I was again caught and sent to a labour camp where I spent nine months, surviving only on sugarcane and bananas.
"I managed to escape and entered China by crossing the Mekong River. I had no food and survived by eating snakes on the way. I then met a Korean couple which gave me money that enabled me to buy a boat and that's how I arrived in South Korea.
"But then I was accused of being a spy and imprisoned again. I was then accused of being Chinese and managed to run away. In 1998, I escaped to Japan but was imprisoned because someone told the authorities I was a spy.
Park Jung-oh looks after the evening classes that take place for North Korean children [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]
"I got very ill and kept fainting. Fortunately, there was a civil group that heard my story and helped me get released. I was then given Japanese residency and in 2001, I finally arrived back in South Korea.
"The Korean government doesn't treat defectors as people and the society isn't interested in them.
"I founded the North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea in 2005 after an incident in Gangwon province where a female defector died in a car accident and her body was placed in the refrigerator for 20 days and not given funeral. No one wanted to deal with that.
"The Ministry of Unification gives around 200,000 Korean won ($188) as a funeral fee for each defector, but that's not adequate and extremely disrespectful because a lot of them don't have a family here. If they die, they'll die as mummies.
READ MORE
Korean Demilitarized Zone: Life at the border
"That's why I decided to make this organisation which also provides study space for young defectors or children born to North Koreans.
"Our group sends money, clothes and medicine to defectors who are having a difficult time in China. There are a lot of young women in China who are sold in the sex industry or as wives. Men are also treated as slaves and they'll be forced to work on farms but won't be given any money.
"I've saved almost 6,000 defectors so far and the media calls me the 'Father of Defectors'. But the job isn't done yet.
"I don't know where my family is. I heard through people that they were killed after I fled. I didn't speak to them after I fled North Korea.
"It's really hard to imagine that the situation in the North would change. It's not something that could happen in my lifetime. But if the Kim Jong-un regime was to fall, I would take my weapons across the border and take revenge. But for now, I don't think I will waste my time thinking about something that will probably never happen."
As told to Faras Ghani and Hae Ju Kang
Kim Yong-hwa founded the North Korean Refugees Human Rights Association of Korea in Seoul in 2005 [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]
---------
North Korean defector: 'I wish I can go back for a day'
In part two of a series on North Korean defectors, Al Jazeera speaks to NG Hyeong, 81, who fled during the Korean War.
by Faras Ghani4 Mar 2018
Nam Gyu Hyeong doubts he will ever be able to go back to his hometown in North Korea [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]-------------
Seoul, South Korea - Around 31,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Almost 71 percent of those defectors are female, most in their 20s and 30s.
Only a few take the most dangerous route through the Korean Demilitarized Zone that a North Korean soldier took late last year.
Most of the North Koreans defect via the long and expensive journey that takes them into China after crossing the Yalu River.
This journey takes the individuals to China's southern border into Vietnam and Laos before they arrive in Thailand.
They are often flown into South Korea from Thailand. Some even opt to go to the US, according to Liberty in North Korea, an NGO based in the US and South Korea.
But their arrival into South Korea does not signal an end to their worries and problems.
READ: Part 1 - 'Korean government doesn't treat defectors as people'
In part two of the series on North Korean defectors, Al Jazeera speaks to 81-year-old Nam Gyu Hyeong who fled as a 14-year-old student during the Korean War and worked his way up as a lawyer.
He now owns a section of the Naemdaemun market in South Korea's capital Seoul.
"It was 1950 and I was a 14-year-old student. The US military was stationed near my town near Hyesan city in North Korea.
"One afternoon, me, my 40-year-old cousin, his son and some seniors from school hopped on a military truck. We made it as far as the Geoje Island south of Busan where we were kept in a refugee camp for a year.
"There were too many people in the camp so some of us were signed up to live with local families around the camp. The family I stayed with took really good care of me.
"In South Korea, I didn't feel different and never received different treatment for being a North Korean.
"After we left the camp, we went to Busan before one of my seniors, who was kind of a police chief there, helped me out. I was just hanging out in the area for around two years and just getting by.
"I then worked as an official in a small town in the North Chungcheong Province for a decade. While working, I would study at night and managed to get a law degree from Chungbuk college.
"I then moved to Seoul and worked in a court for about four years before deciding to start a business with my friends.
"Things moved well from there on and I've been here in Naemdaemun market for three years now. My business partner has passed away and I now own this market.
"I don't remember much about my hometown in the North. I left my family there. My parents are probably dead but my sister and cousins might still be there. I haven't been in touch with anyone since I fled.
READ MORE
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"I still keep in touch with the people that I fled with. Four of them have died. And because we're old and busy, there aren't that many opportunities to meet up.
"There used to be a lot of gatherings among defectors from the North but I guess the new generations don't really care too much.
"South Korea has been really nice to me. It's given me so much and I feel happy. I wish I can go back for a day and see my hometown but I doubt much of my family is left. I just want to see what has changed and what life is like now.
"But I doubt that would be possible."
As told to Faras Ghani and Hae Ju Kang.
THE LISTENING POST: South Korea's 'Defector TV' (08:36)
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Faras Ghani
Faras Ghani is Deputy Online Editor at Al Jazeera English.
--------
North Korean defector describes life at home through cartoons
In part three of the series on North Korean defectors, Al Jazeera speaks to cartoonist Sung-guk who fled in 2010.
by Faras Ghani11 Mar 2018
It took Choi Sung-guk just 15 days to reach South Korea from the North [Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]-------
Seoul, South Korea - Around 31,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Almost 71 percent of those defectors are female, most in their 20s and 30s.
Only a few take the most dangerous route through the Korean Demilitarized Zone that a North Korean soldier took late last year.
Most of the North Koreans defect via the long and expensive journey that takes them into China after crossing the Yalu River.
This journey takes the individuals to China's southern border into Vietnam and Laos before they arrive in Thailand.
They are often flown into South Korea from Thailand. Some even opt to go to the US, according to Liberty in North Korea, an NGO based in the US and South Korea.
But their arrival into South Korea does not signal an end to their worries and problems.
Part 1 -"Korean government doesn't treat defectors as people"
Part 2 - "As a refugee, South Korea has given me everything"
In part three of the series, Al Jazeera speaks to 37-year-old cartoonist Choi Sung-guk who also works as a lecturer and broker, helping more North Koreans escape the country and arrive in South Korea.
"I was under surveillance for copying and distributing South Korean movies in the North when I decided to flee in 2010.
"I actually sent out my family first - my mother, sister and my nephew - to China because I was worried. However, after they left, I was arrested and sent to a detention centre for six months. I manage to flee the country myself after that detention period was over.
"Things didn't work out well for my family in China though. They were arrested and the government tricked my sister. They sent her to North Korea as a spy to complete a mission. But she was caught and killed. I found out when I was in the detention centre.
"In North Korea, I worked at an animation company, making local versions of The Lion King, Titanic, etc. I worked as a wedding and birthday photographer and since hairstyles were tightly controlled in the country, I took photos of people and photoshopped different hairstyles on those.
"My trip to South Korea was short and easy. I fled to China, then Laos and then to Thailand before arriving in South Korea. All in 15 days.
Choi Sung-guk's sister was killed after she was sent back to North Korea from China[Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]
"I started working as a program developer and web designers after arriving here. But I was always interested in comics and cartoons. What I saw here was really boring so I took up working at a broadcasting network, as a radio jockey and also a journalist and that's when I started to understand the South Korean society.
"I also realised the cultural differences between the two Koreas and how people had different attitudes towards unification. And that's why I started my webtoon three years ago and help towards reducing the cultural gap.
"Through my art work, I want to teach people the differences and the similarities we have. I also want to dispel the prejudice the youth has about unification.
"Out of the 32,000 defectors in South Korea, the most visible are the 100-odd that are not living well. Rest of them are not visible because they are well integrated and are able to make the money they need to survive.
"In North Korea, people have to report on each other. Whenever someone is eating meat, a neighbour, who can't have meat, will report him. I try and show stuff through my art, through scenarios that are more ordinary.
"Sometimes, I will include historical stuff or academic information in order to get people to understand why it is that North and South Koreans are different. All my work is through collected via people around me and from my work as a broker.
"There has never been anyone who has asked me to send them back permanently. I have had requests for people to go back for a few days to see their family and I have managed to get that done. But nobody wants to go there forever."
As told to Faras Ghani and Hae Ju Kang
WATCH Paralympics: South, North Korea relations in the spotlight (2:30)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Faras Ghani
Faras Ghani is Deputy Online Editor at Al Jazeera English.
@ @farasG
Almost 71 percent of those defectors are female, most in their 20s and 30s.
Only a few take the most dangerous route through the Korean Demilitarized Zone that a North Korean soldier took late last year.
Most of the North Koreans defect via the long and expensive journey that takes them into China after crossing the Yalu River.
This journey takes the individuals to China's southern border into Vietnam and Laos before they arrive in Thailand.
They are often flown into South Korea from Thailand. Some even opt to go to the US, according to Liberty in North Korea, an NGO based in the US and South Korea.
But their arrival into South Korea does not signal an end to their worries and problems.
Part 1 -"Korean government doesn't treat defectors as people"
Part 2 - "As a refugee, South Korea has given me everything"
In part three of the series, Al Jazeera speaks to 37-year-old cartoonist Choi Sung-guk who also works as a lecturer and broker, helping more North Koreans escape the country and arrive in South Korea.
"I was under surveillance for copying and distributing South Korean movies in the North when I decided to flee in 2010.
"I actually sent out my family first - my mother, sister and my nephew - to China because I was worried. However, after they left, I was arrested and sent to a detention centre for six months. I manage to flee the country myself after that detention period was over.
"Things didn't work out well for my family in China though. They were arrested and the government tricked my sister. They sent her to North Korea as a spy to complete a mission. But she was caught and killed. I found out when I was in the detention centre.
"In North Korea, I worked at an animation company, making local versions of The Lion King, Titanic, etc. I worked as a wedding and birthday photographer and since hairstyles were tightly controlled in the country, I took photos of people and photoshopped different hairstyles on those.
"My trip to South Korea was short and easy. I fled to China, then Laos and then to Thailand before arriving in South Korea. All in 15 days.
Choi Sung-guk's sister was killed after she was sent back to North Korea from China[Faras Ghani/Al Jazeera]
"I started working as a program developer and web designers after arriving here. But I was always interested in comics and cartoons. What I saw here was really boring so I took up working at a broadcasting network, as a radio jockey and also a journalist and that's when I started to understand the South Korean society.
"I also realised the cultural differences between the two Koreas and how people had different attitudes towards unification. And that's why I started my webtoon three years ago and help towards reducing the cultural gap.
"Through my art work, I want to teach people the differences and the similarities we have. I also want to dispel the prejudice the youth has about unification.
"Out of the 32,000 defectors in South Korea, the most visible are the 100-odd that are not living well. Rest of them are not visible because they are well integrated and are able to make the money they need to survive.
"In North Korea, people have to report on each other. Whenever someone is eating meat, a neighbour, who can't have meat, will report him. I try and show stuff through my art, through scenarios that are more ordinary.
"Sometimes, I will include historical stuff or academic information in order to get people to understand why it is that North and South Koreans are different. All my work is through collected via people around me and from my work as a broker.
"There has never been anyone who has asked me to send them back permanently. I have had requests for people to go back for a few days to see their family and I have managed to get that done. But nobody wants to go there forever."
As told to Faras Ghani and Hae Ju Kang
WATCH Paralympics: South, North Korea relations in the spotlight (2:30)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Faras Ghani
Faras Ghani is Deputy Online Editor at Al Jazeera English.
@ @farasG
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