Police officers help NK defectors remove physical, mental scars

A North Korean defector receives surgery counseling at a plastic surgery clinic in Gangnam, southern Seoul, with inspector Kim Kyeong-suk, right, attending from Yongsan Police Station, in this December 2014 photo. / Courtesy of Yongsan Police Station

• Published Feb 10, 2016 5:04 PM KST
• Updated Feb 10, 2016 5:04 PM KST

By Jhoo Dong-chan

A 45-year-old North Korean defector, who identified himself as Lee, was once an elite executive of North Korea’s Workers’ Party and also one of the closest aides to Jang Song-thaek, then a key policy adviser under the Kim Jong-il regime.

In order to prove his loyalty to the regime, his arm was even tattooed with the phrase, “I will march along with our grand leader forever.” He also had a Kimilsungia, a violet orchid symbolizing the late leader Kim Il-sung, tattooed next to the phrase.

His loyalty was, however, questioned when Jang was stripped of all his posts in the Workers’ Party and executed in December 2013, and Lee fled from the North to the South.

The trilingual Lee wanted to start a new life here but it was not easy.

He wanted to get a job with his fluency in Chinese and Russian but employers treated him like a North Korean gangster because of his tattoos. Even visiting a public bathhouse was a huge challenge for Lee.

He then learned that the Yongsan Police Station in Seoul helps North Korean defectors get plastic surgery for free. He visited the police station and met Chief Inspector Kim Kyeong-suk and Sergeant Kwon Ku-Kwang.

Kim and Kwon immediately introduced Lee to a plastic surgeon, surnamed Hong. Hong erased Lee’s tattoos through three laser treatments in May, July and September last year.

“I couldn’t even wear T-shirts in summer because of the tattoos,” said Lee. “Even enjoying outdoor activities was challenging for me. After erasing them, I could hang around outside freely and even got a job. I deeply appreciate Kim and Kwon’s help.”

Kim first became interested in the plastic surgery project when she was at the National Security Division of Seodaemun Police Station in Seoul.

“As I worked in the security division, I found a number of North Korean defectors were very embarrassed about going outside due to various scars and marks of violence they sustained when escaping from the country,” Kim said. “So I thought about what I could do for them.”

Another defector, surnamed Lee as well, was the first to get Kim’s help.

Captured by a Chinese human trafficking gang while escaping from the North, Lee was sold to a Chinese farmer when she was only 16.

She was forced to marry a Chinese man there and was beaten badly whenever she attempted to escape. The man even burned her scalp and breast for punishment, she said.

She finally fled and came to Korea in 2009, but a social life here was not possible for Lee because of the burn marks on her scalp where no hair grew.

Sympathizing with Lee’s situation, Kim looked for doctors who would provide free plastic surgery services for Lee and met Hong for the first time. Hong offered her scalp reconstruction and hair implant surgery.

Kim was then transferred to Yongsan Police Station and decided to launch the “appearance improvement project for North Korean defectors” with Kwon in 2014.

On July 29, 2014, the police station signed an MOU with the Korean Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. Under the deal, the association promised to provide free plastic and reconstructive surgery costing less than 20 million won ($16,637). Beauty treatments are excluded.

So far, a total of 19 defectors have received 28 operations from 10 member clinics of the association. Another 43 are on standby for surgery.

“I understand some 28,000 North Korean defectors are living in the South. All of them are potential beneficiaries of our help,” Kim said. “Such scars and marks they got while escaping from the North also affect their minds. I hope our project can help them live here as members of society.”