North Korean defectors share inspiring tales from 'extraordinary' visit to United States

Six North Korean defectors flew across the Pacific to the United States, where they went busking on a Californian beach pier and shared their lives' trajectories before and after their escape with local college students.

Ju Chan-yang, left, a North Korean defector, speaks during a public diplomacy event held at the U.S. Embassy's American Diplomacy House in central Seoul on Monday. She was joined by two other defectors, Hyun Hyang and Park Yu-sung, while Koh Kwang-il and Lee Jeong-cheol took part in the event virtually. [U.S. EMBASSY IN SEOUL]

Six North Korean defectors flew across the Pacific to the United States, where they went busking on a Californian beach pier and shared their lives’ trajectories before and after their escape with local college students.

On Monday, five of the six defectors gathered in Seoul at a public diplomacy event at the U.S. Embassy’s American Diplomacy House.

They stressed that the focus of attention and policy should be on the “North Korean people, not the regime.”

Overseas entourage

During the event, the defectors showcased a documentary, “I am from North Korea,” which follows their nine-day journey in the United States to raise awareness of human rights abuses in the North.

The 30-minute documentary portrayed the defectors’ efforts, which ranged from classroom speeches to anti-repatriation activism during their tour of colleges in California. It was directed by defector and YouTuber Park Yu-sung, whose former channel had over 100,000 subscribers.

In the documentary, Lee Jeong-cheol, who fled from the North in 2006 and arrived in the South in 2007, said he “hopes to provide Americans an opportunity to empathize with the minds and thoughts of North Koreans rather than simply learning the country is under dictatorship.”

Lee told U.S. audiences that his father, a schoolteacher, earned “less than five dollars” a month. He said the regime is undergirded by a social structure in which “99 percent of people are enslaved for the top one percent.”

“Does that mean I became a traitor for leaving the country because of hunger?” Lee asked. He explained why he has been vocal about the human rights crisis in his homeland, saying he “cannot ignore North Koreans.” He noted that his friends, families and relatives remain in the North.

A documentary shows a moment where North Korean defectors and activists participated in a booth event to raise public awareness on human rights situation in North Korea during their college visits in California. It was screened at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul's American Diplomacy House in central Seoul on Monday. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

Ju Chan-yang, who fled the North 13 years ago, said “radio offered dreams of hope” to her family as she “was able to listen to voices of North Korean refugees through foreign broadcasts from South Korea and the United States” before her defection.

Another defector, Hyun Hyang, a former state singer from the North, said she had dreamed of a “moment where she could sing a song chosen by herself freely without anyone intervening.”

She said she “grew up in an environment where individual dreams were not allowed.” She added she was astonished during the college tour when she saw one school’s proactive support for a science major’s solo guitar concert on campus.

She chose the song “When I Dream” (1979) for her busking performance, as she sees herself in the lyrics: “I could fly to Paris; it’s at my beck and call.” Now, in South Korea

Three North Korean defectors, Ju Chan-yang, Hyun Hyang and Park Yu-sung, from the left, participate in a talk show held at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul's American Diplomacy House in central Seoul on Monday. [LEE SOO-JUNG]

After the documentary screening, the North Korean defectors shared key takeaways from their journey as panelists in a discussion and engaged with audiences at the American Diplomacy House.

Koh Kwang-il, who defected during his military service in 2018, said he was surprised that people in the United States treated the defectors like anyone else — without any judgments or stereotypes, contrasting the attitude to that of North Koreans, who were raised to be anti-American.

When asked about social and educational measures to help North Korean defectors successfully settle in South Korean society, Ju stressed that “admitting them as South Korean nationals would be a considerable psychological support rather than defining them in a socially constructed framework.”

She said she does not consider herself and other defectors as “refugees.” She said it was hurtful when her South Korean friend called her a “defector” when introducing her to others, not as her friend.

Ju said she now dreams of becoming a giver and leaping from her receiver status. She highlighted the importance of emotional support, adding the role of the giver is not essentially limited to providing financial support. “Simply pressing the ‘like’ button on a defector’s social media page or subscribing to their channel can help them overcome difficulties when settling in South Korea,” she said.

“These positive changes will reach and penetrate North Korean society […] as most defectors communicate with their relatives still living under the regime — as far as I know,” Ju said.

When asked about freedom, Lee said flying to the United States with a South Korean passport in his hand “felt extraordinary,” comparing the experience to his tumultuous defection route where he had illegally crossed the border between China and Laos.

Joshua Lustig, public diplomacy officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, gives welcome remarks to audiences at the American Diplomacy House in central Seoul. [U.S. EMBASSY IN SEOUL]

Joshua Lustig, a public diplomacy officer at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, later told the Korea JoongAng Daily that the embassy invited the defectors because South Korea and the United States share values of “freedom of expression and democracy.”

He said that the embassy “shared its stage and gave its platform” to the defectors so they could share their stories at the American Diplomacy House, a public diplomacy space that exists only in Korea and nowhere else.

Lustig said the event was a reflection of the South Korean public’s “desire” to learn more about the United States and “to have a dialogue about important issues that both countries care about, such as human rights,” through other public diplomacy events in Seoul.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]