What North Koreans Think Of South Korea | STAY CURIOUS #2

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I like this part:

Why were they nice to me?

I was born in North Korea and stayed loyal to the country, but got treated like a criminal.

I got abandoned by China because I wasn't their citizen.

But the country that was supposed to be my enemy, welcomed me with open arms...

I couldn't believe it.

Imagine that.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 3560 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/mrmooocow4 πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies

Bus story is great but, I seriously cried when he described his experience on the plane and waiting for the NIS. I haven't gotten so emotional over someone I've never met in quite a while.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 412 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/kuthedk πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies

Her story of trying to catch the bus ... lol!

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 520 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/nzerinto πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies

The culture shock for that guy must've been intense as fuck. The girl seemed to have acclimated a lot quicker.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 288 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/ScorpiusDX πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies

This is a really great subreddit. Really interesting and varied content.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 310 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/flashersmac πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies

funny how the world ignored the mass deportation of people back to north korea during the olympics. that's a fucking travesty :/

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 265 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/MagicBreadRoll πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies

TLDR: "Hey South Korea- I'll trade you this Asian for a tree."

-Mongolia

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 330 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/brewhead55 πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies

This is incredibly fascinating to me, and is really well done. The way the questions are asked and answered really helps us as viewers connect with them on a human level. It helps us, people who can't even imagine the level of transition these interviewees experienced, get even just a glimpse into what this situation was like for them. The confusion, terror, relief, joys, struggles of their journeys. Really nice piece.

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 46 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/goldengrif πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies

The bus story is great

πŸ‘οΈŽ︎ 69 πŸ‘€οΈŽ︎ u/CitizenPremier πŸ“…οΈŽ︎ Jan 12 2017 πŸ—«︎ replies
Captions
Hey guys, it's Steve from Asian Boss. Recently, we had a chance to interview a couple of North Korean defectors. In the previous video, they shared their thoughts on what's happening in North Korea so you should watch that video first if you haven't already. In this video, you're going to hear how their lives have changed since arriving in South Korea and how they feel about South Korean society in general. Let's get to it. How long has it been since you arrived in South Korea? It's been 9 years. -It's been 10 years. - Right. Could you explain how you came to settle in South Korea? How did you get here? -From China, I mean. -Right. So I was in China for about 4 years. The truth is, if China hadn't tried to repatriate us back to North Korea, we would've stayed. But when China hosted the 2008 Olympics, they began mass deportation of North Korean defectors. During the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government ordered defectors to be captured and sent back to North Korea. So it was too dangerous for us to stay in China. When the authorities started searching houses, my mom and I were cornered like rats. We could feel them getting closer. We were running out of places to hide. If we were going to die either way, we thought we might as well die searching for freedom. Let's at least give it a shot. So how do you get to South Korea? I came via Mongolia. I understand that South Korea and Mongolia had an unofficial agreement at the time. Rather than repatriating defectors back to North Korea, Mongolia would send them to South Korea in exchange for natural resources like trees needed for the deserts. My mom and I... we had to go through China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to get to South Korea. So how did you feel when you touched down at Incheon Airport? When I arrived at Incheon Airport, I was just blown away. It was like heaven. There were so many lights, which were so pretty. I felt as though I travelled through time, went past 40 years and arrived in the future. If someone asked me when was the happiest moment in my life, it'd be that moment on February 8, 2006. Because when I was living in China as a defector, my day would start like this. As soon as I wake up, I'd check if I was still in the same room or if I was in prison. That daily routine lasted for 4 years. Even to this day, whenever I hear the sound of sirens, whether it'd be from a fire truck, ambulance or police car, I get goose bumps and start breaking into a cold sweat. Anyway... that's what my life was like. So as the plane was arriving at the airport, I heard the announcement: "We'll soon be arriving so please fasten your seatbelt." When I heard the announcement... I still can't explain how I felt at the time, a lot of mixed emotions... I felt something burning inside of me and my face got flushed and my eyes got teary. When I looked around to see if that was just me... at the time, there were all 8 defectors... and we were all crying. So was there anyone there waiting for you guys? Yes, people from the National Intelligence Service (NIS). Because they knew you were coming? Yes, they came out to greet us. There was an interesting episode. Before I boarded the plane from Mongolia I was told by an NIS agent that for safety, when the plane arrives in South Korea, we should remain seated even when the flight attendants tell us to get off the plane. So we just sat there while everyone else got off. It was just the 8 of us refusing to get off when the flight attendants kept asking... until someone from the NIS came to pick us up. So when the agent finally showed up... actually, I was very touched because as soon as he saw us, he said: "I sincerely welcome to South Korea." And I just started crying. Even now I get emotional just thinking about it. very emotional... Why were they nice to me? I was born in North Korea and stayed loyal to the country but got treated like a criminal. I got abandoned my China because I wasn't their citizen, But the country that was supposed to be my enemy welcomed me with open arms... I couldn't believe it. I didn't know those words would touch me so much. Anyway, we got into a car and when I looked outside, as opposed to seeing all the Chinese street signs which I couldn't read and so was always afraid of being caught, all I could see and hear was Korean. It was literally heaven and I was so happy. Afterwards, we wend into the NIS to verify our defector status, which took about 1 month. The NIS had to make sure we weren't North Korean spies. -How do they do that? - Well... They put you on lie detectors to monitor your heart rate in case you lie. So things like that. Also, Chinese people of Korean descent know that North Koreans can get a lot of help here so they sometimes pretend to be North Koreans and try to get money from the South Korean government. So they also test if you are Chinese-Korean or North Korean. After that, you get transferred to an institution called "Hanawon". Like temporary housing? Yes, you live there but you are not allowed to go outside. You just get educated on how South Korea works. In Hanawon, they... teach you how to use the remote, TV and elevators etc because we don't know anything. -Like the basics. -Right. So we get trained for about 3 months. They even teach you how to ride a bus. But I slept through the training on to ride a bus. Yeah, I fell asleep. So when I finally got out to join society, I totally didn't know how to ride a bus. I figured I could just... copy what people in front of me were doing. So I went to a bus stop, and saw a man and a woman lining up in front of me. When a bus arrived, the man got on and tapped his butt onto the machine. He literally tapped his butt. I was like "In Korea, all guys have to do is tap their butts!" You didn't realize his bus card was on the back pocket. Next, the woman tapped her handbag onto the machine. "Right, so men tap their butts to ride a bus and women just have to tap their handbags." Because I was obviously a girl, I just took off my backpack and tapped it. But whereas I could hear a sound for the people before me, it didn't make any sound for me, which really impressed me once again. "How could they tell I was from North Korea and not make a sound?" That's what I thought. Then I thought...maybe I had to tap my butt like the man did. But I was too short to tap my butt on the machine. -You couldn't reach it? -Not with my butt. So I started jumping trying to tap my butt, and the bus driver was like, "what are you doing?" I was like, "how do I get to this place?" "I can't make any sound." The driver then told me not to worry about it so I got a free bus ride. I was very embarrassed so after that incident, I studied about bus cards and figured out how to ride a bus and subway. So after you get out of Hanawon, where do you go? You just join society. If you are a student, you go to school. What about housing? The government gives you a place for 5 years, rent free. -Right. - They give you one. After 5 years, you have to go somewhere else... or you could stay and start paying rent. While you were living in South Korea, what did you find most fascinating or positive about South Korea? First, they use a lot of English words. So even if they were speaking in Korean, I couldn't understand them. For example, when I was in college... because it was my dream to be a college student, I really wanted to study hard. But my professor would say things like: "This semester, a presentation will be done in a 'team' that 'networking' is a necessary part of 'team play', and that there has to be a good 'communication'." I was like, "what did you say?" Best thing about South Korea? Really...first of all, you can enjoy freedom! I can say whatever I want and the government doesn't care. Can't you just say things in North Korea? No way! In North Korea, you should add a little like "General Kim Jong-il". Whoever says "Kim Jong-il" just by his name would just disappear the next day. So for example, if you say "Kim Jong Un is fat!" What happens to you? You will be gone. -They take you away. -Seriously? Even if you are with friends, you can't say things like that. So when people find out that you are North Korean, maybe from your accent, do they treat you differently? Yeah, I'd say it's a little different because South Koreans have certain stereotypes about Chinese-Koreans and North Koreans. What kind of stereotypes? They just assume that you are poor and look down on you. Especially when you go in for a job interview and once they find out that you're North Korean... it's like... "if you want to work in this company try not to reveal that you are from North Korea." But I'm not ashamed of being North Korean. Actually, I feel quite proud to have through all the hardships to come to South Korea. but since South Koreans could treat you differently, I think that's why companies don't want me to say where I'm from, which makes me really sad. Is North Korea better than South Korea in any aspects? Like, this one thing is better in North Korea. Definitely the environment. The air is very clean. Especially at night, you can see so many stars in the sky... including the Milky Way. What about the people aspect? What's the difference between North and South Koreans? That's probably what I struggled with the most at first... People are very cold and unapproachable. In Seoul, you don't even know who lives next door. In North Korea, you know everyone in your neighborhood, like their names, their family members, how old they are, what they do for a living, etc. That's how much you know and everyone is very close. In that expect... you could say that North Korea is slightly better. South Koreans are obviously much wealthier. Right. But do they look happier than North Koreans to you? Not necessarily. In my opinion, South Koreans are so busy with work that they don't seem very happy. All they do is work. To buy nice houses and cars, they always chase money rather than happiness. Thant's interesting. So you could be happier even when you are "poor"? Even when I was starving in North Korea, I was happy. In South Korea, even high school students are stressed because of studying. For example, they have private tutoring from 7am. go to school and stay there till 7pm, then attend another private tutoring institution until 11pm everyday. That can be stressful. But in North Korea, they tell you to go outside and play after school. You only study in school. I actually feel sorry for them. -You mean South Koreans? -Yes. Because... they are so busy competing with everyone that they lose out on the most important things like happiness, love and relationships, etc. They only focus on materialistic things. One of my most memorable experiences in South Korea was when I was in college. A professor gave us an assignment to say "thank you, I love you" to our parents and write about the parents' reactions and how we felt about their reactions. I was like, "How is this even an assignment?" I thought it was some practical joke. But most students were freaking out like "How am I supposed to do that!" So I figured it was difficult for them. But in my 3rd year of college I found myself contemplating suicide. -Why? -Because... as a North Korean, I just couldn't see how I could compete with South Koreans to get ahead in life. I also suffer from hemophilia so when I bleed, it doesn't stop. Could someone sick like me survive in South Korean society? No, I didn't think I could. So I decided to kill myself but at that moment, I felt a sense of regret. Other than the moment of arriving at Incheon Airport, getting my social security and student cards, I had no other happy memories. "I finally have freedom after risking my life, but why is my life so miserable?" I asked myself that question and that's when I realized that I was pursuing the same materialistic goals as my South Korean friends. Regrettably, South Korea has the highest suicide rate in the world for 12 years in a row. When I first came to South Korea, I laughed at those that committed suicide but I finally understood their pain. I can see it from both perspectives now. So for the rest of my life, I'm going to do all I can to help reduce the suicide rate in South Korea. You have a very inspiring vision, which I'm sure you will execute well. But have you ever been falsely accused of anything? Like being a North Korean spy? Have you seen any of those instances? Actually, my close friend's mom got accused of being a spy and was investigated by the NIS. My friend was very angry about it. I remember him drinking a lot and expressing disappointment towards South Korean society. Another example is... when a North Korean woman met with future in-laws for the first time, they asked her if she was a spy. Also, because there are instances of human trafficking of defectors in China, they asked if she had been previously married or had an illegitimate child, which was very humiliating and hurtful to the woman. But they just said that to her face. I can understand why they asked, but the problem here is the stereotypes. Not all North Koreans are spies. This could also affect their employment. So we always have to be careful and watch what we say and do. Why is that? Because if you say or do one wrong thing, people will say it's because you're North Korean. So it'll be difficult for people to fully embrace defectors? I don't think it will ever be 100%. Maybe to some extent. How would North Koreans feel about reunification? Ever since the Kim Il-Sung administration, North Koreans have always been taught that we are one Korea. Part of that was obviously politically-motivated brainwashing but still, we were always taught the two Koreas need to be reunified. But the reason for the reunification... because we were told South Korea was full of homeless people. -So North Korea had to rescue them. -Right. What about now? Because people must be aware how wealthy South Korea is, Despite that, would North Koreans still want reunification? Probably not the ones in charge because they wouldn't want to be held accountable for the crimes they committed. They know that. And ordinary citizens? Ordinary North Koreans have nothing to lose. So they'd want reunification because life is too tough right now. Do you personally want reunification? Of course I do. The reason why I started a Youtube channel in South Korea was to help speed up the process of reunification. That's why. How realistic is reunification though? The thing about reunification is... it will only work if both North and South Koreans see eye to eye. Then how do you think South Koreans feel about reunification? I had a little kid once asked me: "What is renunciation?" So I had explain to him what it is. When I asked him why he didn't know about it, he said his parents never taught him what it was. He just had no basic idea even though he was in elementary school. Unless South Koreans are properly educated on reunification, my guess is most of them wouldn't care. I'm a defector so of course I want reunification more than anyone. Because I want to visit home. That said, I don't think the time is right. -Why do you say that? -Because... South Korea is too uninformed about North Korea. South Korea's perception of North Korea is stuck in late 90s to early 2000s. Some high school and college students are still fascinated to see me and ask me if we use the same language. That's how little education there is about reunification. Even if North Koreans are brainwashed, at least they are constantly being taught about reunification. There are over 30,000 North Korean defectors in South Korea right now. Yet, people know nothing about North Koreans nor do they try to mix with them. Right now, North Koreans have such a good impression of South Korea and as soon as we reunify, they will come to South Korea. When they do, we can expect a serious clash and the social conflict will exceed anything we can imagine. I think that will create serious economic and cultural issues to the point Korea could fall. This is such a serious issue and for that reason, I'm against it until people's mindsets change first. We hope that this video helped you become better informed about North Korea and we'd like to ask you to do whatever you can to raise awareness on this issue. We also had a change to collaborate with a YouTube channel "Digitalsoju TV" to make a more light-hearted video about North Koreans trying American BBQ for the first time so make sure you check out their video as well. Thanks for watching and see you in the next video.
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Channel: Asian Boss
Views: 3,931,401
Rating: 4.9537487 out of 5
Keywords: North Korea, South Korea, Donald Trump, Obama, kpop, What North koreans think of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, Life in North Korea, Asian Boss, korean girls try, korean girls try american BBQ, korean girls tastes, korean girls try pizza, koreans try southern BBQ, 미ꡭ식 바베큐, brisket, pulled pork, koreans react, bbq sauce, digitalsoju, Koreans try mexican food, american BBQ, north koreans try american bbq, digitalsojutv
Id: EhmzpMP3bEE
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 21min 42sec (1302 seconds)
Published: Thu Jan 12 2017
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