Yesterday at Harvard, I watched the documentary film <BEYOND Utopia> which vividly portrays the escape process of North Korean defectors, and had a Q&A session with those who directly appeared in the film.

In October 2013, I went on an activity delivering winter clothes and supplies along the Amnok River-Tumen River, the border area between China and North Korea. Since I had experienced seeing the points where defectors mainly cross the river and the guard posts, every scene in the movie felt more realistic to me.

Throughout the movie, I tried my best not to show tears in front of those who directly experienced all of it, but eventually broke down completely during Pastor Kim Seong-eun’s story.

After losing his son while helping North Korean defections, Pastor Kim worked hard so that his son’s death would not be in vain and he could become a grain of wheat bearing more fruit. He said he has helped total 1,018 North Korean defections as of April 2024. Due to constantly crossing mountains, jungles, and rivers with defectors at night, there was no healthy part left in the pastor’s body, but he continues to dedicate himself. 

When the documentary began, the story started with the joy of being able to bring Soyeon’s son to South Korea as well. But right before crossing the Amnok River, he was unfortunately discovered and suffered unimaginable torture, and is still in a detention camp to this day. Soyeon has been paying brokers huge sums to check on her son’s life or death status until now.

Until the very last moment of the film’s release, Soyeon was deeply concerned that publicly showing her son’s face and name could threaten his life. But she decided that if the film garnered more global attention instead, it would become harder for the North Korean regime to kill her son.

From Soyeon, I felt the resolute power of a mother. She embraced not only her own son but all those suffering under the North Korean regime as her own children, dedicating herself to solve this issue. A strong and great mother – how could I ever fathom her heart? I could only deeply hug her with all my heart.

Soyeon’s last comment lingered in my mind – that the problem is being born in the wrong country, that North Koreans are the same people as us…

After the COVID-19 pandemic, China and neighboring countries tightened controls on movement, causing broker fees for rescuing one North Korean defector to increase tenfold to recently $20,000 per person. Additionally, within North Korea, defectors are seen as the biggest threat undermining the regime, so reporting attempts and executions have become much harsher than before. While North Korean residents may initially view Korean dramas as manufactured fantasies and not fully believe them, the impact is immense when they receive the reality of South Korea from trusted defected family/acquaintances.

During the Q&A, people of various nationalities asked questions from diverse perspectives on how to solve this issue:

Why must they take the long detour through North Korea-China-Vietnam-Laos-Thailand to reach South Korea? Can’t they go directly from North Korea-China-South Korea?

Why can’t defectors receive humanitarian aid as refugees from neighboring countries?

Does the Republic of Korea government provide economic support for North Korean defections?

While seemingly obvious questions, they are in fact highly complex.

All these discussions made me deeply ponder how much political entanglement and context we apply in interpreting and dealing with the obvious dignity of “human life.” It is also very unfortunate that in South Korea, any mention of “North Korea” has come to be interpreted “politically” at some point.

In the documentary, there was a scene where a family of 5 successful North Korean defectors, even after arriving in South Korea, still did not let down their guard and praised leader Kim Jong-un. The bewildered and distraught gaze of a grandmother whose entire 80-year life was shaken is unforgettable. I think I also had a self-centered thought like “They’ve been consuming a lot of Korean dramas and culture for over 10 years, so why doesn’t anyone rebel?”

Even in a world where all information is accessible, we humans are still indoctrinated and instigated by social media. But for those who have never even imagined the outside world and spent their entire lives venerating someone as god-like, is it really possible to deny that existence overnight at the risk of their lives?

After the session, I had a brainstorming with a friend researching East Asian politics, reframing the issue from an incentive structure perspective, which gave me new insights into China’s important role.

I hope that more people watch this movie and at least one person get interest in the North Korean defector issue.