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| Lee Jeong-cheol, third from left in front row, poses with travelers visiting from the U.S. in Seoul, May 31. Courtesy of Casey Lartigue |
By Lee Jeong-cheol
I occasionally give lectures to foreign travelers as a Freedom Speakers International (FSI) Keynote Speaker. The topics are mainly "The Reality of North Korea" or "The Lives of North Koreans."
The great thing is that FSI doesn't demand specific stories from North Korean refugee speakers. Instead, they assist the speakers in freely sharing their own stories.
In my lectures, I try to convey an undistorted image of North Korea. I mainly aim to deliver the following messages:
1. Firstly, it is important to distinguish between the North Korean government and the North Korean people. The North Korean government should be criticized as a repressive dictatorship. However, except for the Kim family and the privileged elite, most ordinary North Korean citizens are suffering under tyranny. In reality, they live like slaves.
2. Secondly, it is important to understand that North Korean refugees are not betrayers. In English, the world (including South Korea) calls North Korean refugees "defectors." However, one of the meanings of "defector" is a traitor. When the North Korean government criticizes North Korean refugees, they label us as traitors.
With the exception of high-ranking North Korean officials or those who come from relatively well-off cities like Pyongyang, most North Koreans escape the regime due to hunger. It is doubtful whether we can call those who flee due to hunger as being betrayers. During the conflict in Ukraine, people leaving their homeland for survival are not called "Ukrainian defectors." but Ukrainian refugees.
3. Thirdly, it's necessary to engage in dialogue even with the worst dictatorship, the North Korean government. Criticizing the North Korean government is inevitable, but engaging in dialogue with North Korea is not for the benefit of the regime itself but for the sake of the North Korean people. Advocating for North Korean human rights or emphasizing inter-Korean exchanges fundamentally aims to improve the lives of the North Korean people and ultimately create a better Korean Peninsula. In fact, if there was only the North Korean regime in North Korea, there would be no need for dialogue.
Some argue that if we assist North Korea through inter-Korean exchanges or humanitarian aid, the North Korean government might exploit it for nuclear development. In that case, the question arises: "Does it mean it is okay for ordinary North Koreans to suffer until the nuclear issue is resolved?"
4. Lastly, there is freedom in South Korea. While the North Korean regime dictates North Koreans' future, South Korean society asks "What do you want to do or what do you want to be?" So, having a dream is almost impossible in North Korea. However, in South Korea, there is freedom of choice.
I'm always grateful that North Korean refugees have freedom of speech in South Korea.
The writer is a Keynote Speaker in Freedom Speakers International (FSI), a regular guest on Arirang TV Radio's "North Korea Now" segment of the show "Korea Now," and formerly a radio producer with Unification Media Group (UMG). This was edited for publication by Casey Lartigue Jr.
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