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| LawmakerTae Yong-ho, center, meeting with North Korean refugee Han Song-mi, left, and American Casey Lartigue at his office in the National Assembly of Korea in June 2022/ Courtesy of Casey Lartigue |
By Tae Yong-ho
As a North Korean who was born into the core class of North Korea, I was lucky enough to be educated as an intellectual elite from a young age. I attended the best schools in the country and experienced a life that most other North Koreans could only dream of having. And as I joined the Foreign Ministry of North Korea, I was able to stay outside of the country, representing it abroad.
My patriotism and loyalty seeped into my mind and body, blinding me from the realities of my country. As a North Korean who was born into the core class of North Korea, I was lucky enough to be educated as an intellectual elite from a young age. I attended the best schools in the country and experienced a life that most other North Koreans could only dream of having. And as I joined the Foreign Ministry of North Korea, I was able to stay outside of North Korea, representing it abroad. My patriotism and loyalty seeped into my mind and body, blinding me from the realities of my own country.
But mindless patriotism only can last so long. As I faced countless discrepancies between cruel reality and the North Korea painted by the regime, my eyes slowly opened to the truth. My life has changed in many ways since I escaped to South Korea in 2016. I have learned more about my native country here than when I lived there and represented it abroad. My worst fears about the welfare of my fellow countrymen came true as I looked from the outside-in, with freedom of speech and thought. I acquired a better understanding of how most North Koreans live.
The book Greenlight to Freedom, written by Han Song-mi with Casey Lartigue, is an eye-opener not only for people like me but also for those who know little about North Korea. Han grew up in the rural countryside of North Korea. She attended elementary school for only one year and barely survived by eating grass. The book follows her life from famine to freedom.
As many others do, it seemed natural that North Koreans would thrive once gaining freedom. But Han's story, along with those of other North Korean refugees, makes it clear that freedom isn't enough. There are still lingering issues and trauma that many must overcome before they can live satisfactory lives. With raw honesty, Han opens up about her life and shares the challenges she faced growing up and escaping from North Korea.
As I read her story, I thought about where I was at those times in my life, living a privileged life in both North Korea and abroad. At that same time, there had been North Koreans like Han who were barely surviving. Many, regrettably, end up dying in the streets and at train stations from starvation and frostbite.
Related article [Unthinkable in North Korea by Han Song-mi.]
While all of this has been going on, the leadership builds nuclear weapons and engages in dangerous brinksmanship with global powers. North Korea's anti-human rights system is unprecedented in history. It is important that North Koreans who were not part of the elite tell their stories so that the world can see the side of North Korea that the regime tries to hide.
I hope that readers will be inspired to act on behalf of the North Koreans still stuck in the country as well as North Korean refugees who, like Han and myself, have made it to freedom.
Tae Yong-ho is a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea and former Deputy Ambassador to the North Korean embassy. This except from his Foreword to the book Greenlight to Freedom has published with the permission of FSI Publishing.
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