N. Korean defector pursues dream of becoming successful entrepreneur

By Kim Bo-eun

Kim Eun-ho, 31, spent his childhood years in China after escaping from North Korea with his family when he was very young.

Kim recalls fearing being caught by Chinese authorities, but little did he know that those years would later become an invaluable asset which would help him pursue his dream.

Kim and his family were able to enter South Korea years later. He finished high school and went to university here.

Unlike many North Koreans who struggle to adjust to life in the South, Kim majored in Chinese and business management at Sogang University in Seoul. He also had the opportunity to study at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

After graduation, he worked for two of Korea’s major conglomerates. When Kim was with Hyundai Heavy Industries, he was in charge of negotiating with the company’s subcontractors about prices for the products and services they offered.

“My role was to lower the prices, but when I talked about it to the subcontractors, they would tell me this would leave them with no choice but to fire some of their workers,” Kim said in an interview in Seoul.

It then occurred to Kim that prices greatly affect the subcontractors because they relied mostly on a single major customer.

“I thought they could work with many more companies in China, where the market is much bigger than in Korea,” Kim said. “I figured that with my fluency with Chinese and experience there, I could help small firms here find partners in China.”

Kim left Hyundai and set up his own business, which offers consulting services to small companies here that wish to expand in China.

Kim realized that he had a long way to go. “I knew my fluency in Chinese was my only strength, so I worked harder.”

He woke at 5 a.m. every day and studied English for two hours.

Last month, Kim won an English speech competition for North Korean defectors, hosted by Teach North Korean Refugees, an NGO offering free English lessons for defectors, Shin & Kim, a law firm, and sponsored by The Korea Times and Korea Development Bank.

Kim’s company has provided services for more than 20 companies in the two years since he established it, and is helping the companies conduct market research in China, Kim said. His company received a prize from a conglomerate for its services.

In the flurry of setting up this business and working, Kim also met his fiancee.

“I met her on a blind date,” Kim said, shyly. “She accepted me and my background, despite my uncertain circumstances.”

Kim acknowledges that his plans may not work out the way he envisions. “Many people call me a North Korean refugee, but I call myself a risk-taker,” he said, quoting from the speech he made in the contest. “But I worked hard and am confident, based on my decade-long experience with China.”