{"id":695,"date":"2023-12-22T18:34:03","date_gmt":"2023-12-22T18:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thanassiscambanis.com\/sipa\/?p=695"},"modified":"2023-12-22T18:34:03","modified_gmt":"2023-12-22T18:34:03","slug":"out-of-north-korea-breaking-the-golden-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thanassiscambanis.com\/sipa\/2023\/12\/out-of-north-korea-breaking-the-golden-chain\/","title":{"rendered":"Out of North Korea \u2014 Breaking the Golden Chain\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hyun Seung Lee, born into North Korea\u2019s privileged elite, chose to abandon his life of luxury and security, embarking on a perilous journey towards freedom and a new identity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Terry Cao<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Privileged Life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a very young age, Hyun Seung Lee sensed there was another world beyond the one he lived in. In the bustling streets of Pyongyang, where concrete buildings stood tall and the rhythmic sound of marching boots filled the air, Hyun Seung enjoyed privileges reserved for North Korea\u2019s elite \u2014 but even so, he still imagined another version of himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEver since I was a child, I had dreams of flying away to distant places at night,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cIn these dreams, I could effortlessly engage in conversation with foreign visitors and even learned to sing their songs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hyun Seung is the son of Ri Jong-ho, a former high-ranking officer from North Korea\u2019s Central Committee Bureau 39 \u2014 known as \u201cOffice 39\u201d \u2014 which supports the country\u2019s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program through secret international business. His story challenges North Korea\u2019s self-serving triumphalist narrative. His family\u2019s journey, from the regime\u2019s insulated embrace to their eventual escape, reflects a gradual shift from gilded servitude to pursuing freedom far aways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hyun Seung and his sister Seohyun grew up surrounded by opulence and secrets in a city where the grand mansions of the wealthy cast lengthy shadows. Their home, a seven-floor apartment building reserved for the regime\u2019s elite, boasted panoramic views of the city\u2019s bleak beauty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe lived on the fifth floor,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cNo elevators, just stairs, but all the rooms are big and bright \u2014 a luxury not afforded to everyone in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their neighbors, members of the regime\u2019s upper echelon, included a vice-chairman of the Workers\u2019 Party and a vice-president of a state insurance company. Despite their comfortable surroundings, they, like the rest of the nation, were bound by restrictions. They never truly owned anything, not their luxurious apartments\u2014they were simply residences bestowed upon them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cOur privileges came only from more accessibility to power,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cWith privilege came an unspoken pledge of loyalty, a given for all of us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After high school, Hyun Seung devoted three years and three months to military service on North Korea\u2019s West Coast, countering the South Korean Navy. He later joined the General State Department\u2019s specialized force, teaching martial arts to North Korean soldiers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the military, my allegiance to our leader, Kim Jong-il, was absolute,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cWe diligently studied the regime\u2019s policies and the history of the Kim family, served loyally, and lived under the belief that we were content. For many years, I was convinced that this life would continue endlessly, perhaps even getting better.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Deng Xiaoping\u2019s era, China encouraged North Korea to adopt reform and openness. Initially resistant, fearing it might destabilize his rule, Kim Jong-il eventually showed signs of change by the late 2010s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur guess is \u2014 perhaps sensing his end, Kim Jong-il seemed inclined to leave a positive legacy,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cHis meetings with Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, then China\u2019s leaders, did give us a lot of hope for change.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The period around Kim Jong-il\u2019s death and after Jang Song-thaek\u2019s leadership, who was married to Kim\u2019s daughter, brought brief reforms akin to China\u2019s, leading to an economic bloom. The number of North Koreans visiting China surged from 10,000 to nearly tenfold post-reform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was when I went to study in China,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cAfter my military discharge, I earned a bachelor\u2019s in economics from the University of Finance and Economics and later worked for a state-owned North Korean company in China. It was then that I truly realized there was indeed a world beyond North Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Breaking the Golden Chain<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This period of openness was short-lived. Following Kim Jong-un\u2019s assassination of his reform-minded uncle, Kim Jong-nam, a dramatic shift in power occurred. Kim Jong-un\u2019s regime became more insular, marked by purges and executions of many high-ranking officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe executions were shocking,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cThey occurred at the Military Academy, where students witnessed the execution of so-called traitors by anti-aircraft guns.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one notorious incident, Kim Jong-un\u2019s government executed 500 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat event was a chilling wake-up call, a realization that our golden cage was, in truth, a prison cell,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cIt forced us to question the direction of our country and our own safety.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the autumn of 2014, the Lee family, cloaked in the night\u2019s embrace, embarked on their secret exodus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEscaping was our only passage to a life unshackled,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cWe left behind everything from a life that had become unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lee family\u2019s escape reflects the larger geopolitical situation involving North Korea, China, and South Korea. While South Korea provided limited assistance to defectors, China\u2019s policies often led to the forced return of North Koreans, indicating its ambivalent relationship with its volatile neighbor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe reached Seoul via China\u2019s Dalian,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cSouth Korea assisted us with a resettlement grant of 1,000 dollars.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That 1,000 dollars resonated with a North Korean adage, \u201cEven a  journey of a thousand Ri begins with a single step.\u201d In North Korea, \u201cRi\u201d is a traditional unit of distance, roughly equivalent to 400 meters. This saying is a variation of the well-known proverb, \u201cA journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,\u201d attributed to the Chinese philosopher Laozi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith the pandemic, border controls between China and North Korea tightened.\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cFewer and fewer North Koreans made it out to South Korea.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Life Ahead <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, Hyun Seung and Seohyun live in the United States, far from the world they once knew. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seohyun, following her brother\u2019s path, had the opportunity to study abroad at Dongbei University in China, near their homeland. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs a girl, I was heavily shielded by my family,\u201d Seohyun said. \u201cBut my father eventually realized that he couldn\u2019t protect me forever. Living in North Korea was like being in a prison. We had everything and yet nothing. Our lives were a paradox, woven with threads of fear and uncertainty.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lee family recognized that their privileges came with a price, requiring constant alertness and participation in the regime\u2019s carefully orchestrated drama. They were, in essence, mere actors \u2014 outwardly prosperous but inwardly confined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, as both Hyun Seung and Seohyun pursue their studies at Columbia University\u2019s School of International and Public Affairs, they carry with them not only their past but also their aspirations for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEducation here is not just about learning; it\u2019s about shedding the indoctrination we endured,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cI am not just studying international affairs; I am deconstructing the fabric of my own life, unraveling it thread by thread.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their ambitions extend beyond personal success, symbolizing a greater cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to advocate for those still in North Korea, to be a voice for the voiceless,\u201d Hyun Seung said. \u201cOur escape is not the end of our story; it\u2019s the start of a new narrative, a chance to share with the world a subtle truth: even the most gilded chains are still chains.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hyun Seung Lee, born into North Korea\u2019s privileged elite, chose to abandon his life of luxury and security, embarking on a perilous journey towards freedom and a new identity. By Terry Cao The Privileged Life From a very young age,…<\/p>\n

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