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The Story Of A North Korean Refugee Who Risked His Life For Freedom
He risked his life, and now he wants to share his story
North Korea, country of… what actually? North Korea is mostly known for its totalitarian regime led by Kim Jong-un. Officially, it’s called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which has the same feeling as the German Democratic Republic: everything but democratic.
The Korean Peninsula was united and independent for nearly a thousand years — successively under the Goryéodyna, Joseon dynasty, and Empire of Korea — when Japan occupied Japan in the early 20th century. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, Korea was divided in two.
Attempts to reunite the country failed, leading to the birth of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 1948. The Korean War (1950–1953) ended in an armistice through the intervention of the United Nations. On the border with the south was then a heavily guarded demilitarized zone established.
North Korea has no freedom of movement; leaving the country without permission is seen as treason. Defectors sent back to North Korea can be punished by law with hard labor, five years in prison, and the death penalty.
