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| People leave after paying their respects before a statue of Kim Il-sung, left, as North Korea marks the 109th birth anniversary of the late leader, known as the "Day of the Sun," at Mansu Hill in Pyongyang, April 15. AFP |
By Lee Seo-hyun
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Pyonghattans are the wealthiest people in North Korea, but they may also be the most watched people in the world. No matter where Pyonghattans are, at their organizations, at work, at home, they are being watched, and they know it. Every word and move is watched, even if they cry hard enough for the dictators. A higher position means higher levels of surveillance. It's very normal for Pyonghattan residents to have their phones and their homes tapped. I remember my mom and I whispering into each other's ears at home about Kim Jong-il having many wives. It's been six years since my family left North Korea, but my mom still sometimes whispers directly into my ears. And I remind her every time: "Mom! We're not in North Korea anymore!"
North Korea brainwashes us with propaganda and lies, tries to scare us about the outside unknown world, and makes it so difficult to escape. It puts one final barrier in our brains: guilt.
Once we learn how cruel the regime is, we realize what can happen to those left behind if we leave. It is another moral dilemma that the cruel regime forces on us with its "guilt by association" strategy of punishing entire families for the actions of one person.
North Koreans don't remain silent because they support the regime. North Korea's surveillance state and guilt-by-association strategy are the main reasons that North Koreans can't rebel and even those who left the country a long time ago remain silent.
Most of the elite in North Korea are also victims and slaves of Kim Jong-un the dictator. Of course, there are certain people who deserve to be punished along with Kim. However, the majority of Pyonghattanites are good people. When they learn the true reality of North Korea, they may find themselves with the moral dilemma: they can stay as the ruling class of the suppressive society or leave ― which could jeopardize their families.
The lack of a revolution in North Korea does not mean the elite support Kim Jong-un or the nation's poverty. Those who have been brainwashed don't even have the opportunity to talk with a Chinese taxi driver. They are blocked from accessing both domestic and international information. Others remain quiet, for the sake of their families.
Pyonghattanites who are living well compared to other North Koreans may seem to be rulers in hell, but that isn't true. Once we learn about the outside world, we start to realize that we are serving in hell. Pyonghattanites aren't the ones who rule in hell; it is the dictator and his family who rule in hell and make North Korea a hell for everyone else there.
Seohyun Lee | 2021 International Freedom Conference - YouTube
Lee Seo-hyun is co-host of the Pyonghattan Youtube channel along with her brother Lee Hyun-seung. Her remarks are an excerpt from her speech at the International Freedom Conference held online on April 3 by Freedom Speakers International (FSI).
Her remarks were edited by Casey Lartigue Jr., co-founder of FSI.
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