INTERVIEW Elite North Korean defector dreams of studying abroad
Kim Gum-hyok, North Korean defector who is now a policy adviser at South Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs / Courtesy of Kim Gum-hyok
By Kim Hee-su
Kim Gum-hyok, 31, is a North Korean defector who became a policy adviser at South Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Having arrived in the South in 2012, Kim is part of an emerging generation of North Korean defectors fast acclimatizing to life in South Korea. Kim at one time was a former broadcaster, YouTuber and is now a government official.
“The North Korean defectors of my generation do not usually meet each other. While the past generation of defectors listen to North Korean music and enjoy eating 'naengmyeon' (Korean cold noodles), my generation is eager to be a part of mainstream society in South Korea. Like myself, they want to enter conglomerates and the Ivy League schools or be a doctor and lawyer,” Kim said in a recent interview with The Korea Times.
He also dreams of studying at a U.S. school such as Johns Hopkins University or at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. “I am very passionate about my major of political science. I wish to expand my expertise in the U.S. more deeply.”
It was not necessarily an easy path despite how successfully his life is unfolding. After arriving in South Korea, he stayed at Hanawon which educates defectors like Kim to adjust to South Korean society. He realized for the first time that he was more privileged in many aspects than other Hanawon residents.
He was an elite student at North Korea's prestigious Kim Il-Sung University. There, he majored in English literature and dreamt about becoming a diplomat.
“North Korean students have an enjoyable campus life but it cannot compare to South Korea. Ryongnam-dong, the place where Kim Il-sung University is located, makes students focus only on studying because of the lack of infrastructure.”
Asked why he decided to escape from North Korea, he said it was because of a discussion with some South Korean students at Beijing University. “I studied hard and had pride in the North Korean regime. I thought South and North Korea had a good relationship, but it was not true. That made me like a useless person.”
In Seoul, he graduated from Korea University and became active on YouTube. Currently, he has two channels called “Kim Gum-hyok's Turbulent Diary” and “Seoul Pyongyang Couple.” The former is for South Korean people. “In the news, only the stories about North Korea's dictatorship are highlighted. I felt shame and wanted to show the real life of North Koreans, the stories about North Korean people.”
In “Seoul Pyongyang Couple,” he shares his married life as husband to a South Korean native and soon-to-be father. “I wanted to tell you that I'm well in South Korea. It was not to instigate North Korean people to escape the North. I just want to share my stories with them through this vlog.”
Regarding unification between the two Koreas, Kim paused before saying that South and North Korea should pursue unification. He emphasized that it is a bit early to discuss the unification issue. However, he said that the two Koreas could move forward to a path of getting together.
He also mentioned the human rights situations under the Kim Jong-un regime. Compared to the stories about Syrian refugees, people from the Middle East, Africa, Central and South America, and Uyghurs from China, North Korea might be crueler as it does not have visible regulations, he said.
With his parents in North Korea, Kim said the guilt of leaving his parents would go on forever. However, he cannot be tied up and do nothing and that is why he decided to join the ministry. As a policy adviser, he likes to support veterans' families and soldiers.
Kim did not hesitate to show his boundless ambition. "Who knows if I will be the next president of South Korea?" he said.
Kim Hee-su is an intern at The Korea Times.