"I Was a Broker" (25)

"I Was a Broker" (25) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 The repetitive and anxious days slowly passed by until it was end of October. The officer was calling for me again. It was late evening thus most of them would have gone home but a smart looking prosecutor of average height had begun investigation after me again. The word was inspection, but all t..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:55:43  |  Hit 3703

"I Was a Broker" (24)

"I Was a Broker" (24) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 From what I had seen, the lives of the refugees were truly miserable. These refugees ran to their freedom in the dark woods near Helong, yet they had nowhere to go once they crossed the Tumen River and could only hide out in the mountains. They held their tattered backpacks as if it was m..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:54:31  |  Hit 3484

"I Was a Broker" (23)

"I Was a Broker" (23) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 We were able to meet the Lamcha couple that were staying in South Korea to study faith. Physically, Lamcha looked like a Korean woman, and spoke and typed Korean fluently. We quickly exchanged our greetings and I explained to her what I planned to do. I asked her to help me with calling the milita..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:53:11  |  Hit 3633

"I Was a Broker" (22)

"I Was a Broker" (22) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 I imagined different routes, with the inner Mongolia map in front of me, yet I couldn’t find a solution. If we entered through the north after taking the central train line, public transportation needed to be well established, which wasn’t the case in the area. I decided that to send a person t..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:51:34  |  Hit 3824

"I Was a Broker" (21)

"I Was a Broker" (21) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 I had seen so many inexplicably horrible things during my trip in China. The image of the teenage boys in Ryongsandoe linger before my eyes. The familiar North Korean jihajok (shoes worn by North Korean laborers), the tattered backpack that was barely functional, and their hurried packing that didn..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:50:24  |  Hit 3810

"I Was a Broker" (20)

"I Was a Broker" (20) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 Around the agreed time, someone called my name and came running toward me. It was Gil-Nam. He recognized me from far away and we exchanged greetings. I had experience working with him for a month in Seeger village and afterwards whenever I came to Helong I would encourage the refugees I the village..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:45:01  |  Hit 3813

"I Was a Broker" (19)

"I Was a Broker" (19) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 Today, I headed toward Tumen river. It had been seven years since I crossed the river n a cold wet dawn. I saw the North Korean mountain rise in the horizon on my bus. We quickly arrived by the river. As I stared out at North Korea, I was overcome with emotions I couldn’t even begin to identify. ..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:43:44  |  Hit 3936

"I Was a Broker" (18)

"I Was a Broker" (18) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 When we returned with our successful missions, I was told that there were refugees in Mabansan, who were going through really tough times and desperately needed help. The next morning, I arranged to meet them in Wangqing and headed toward Wangqing. After preparing for my journey, I sought out a ..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:42:32  |  Hit 4048

"I Was a Broker" (17)

"I Was a Broker" (17) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 After hearing about the conditions of refugees hiding out in China, I came to the conclusion that the situation was more critical than it was known in South Korea. I also realized that human rights organizations and missionary organizations have been providing false information. During my stay i..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:40:48  |  Hit 4144

"I Was a Broker" (16)

"I Was a Broker" (16) RYU Sang-JoonNorth Korean defector and activist Entered South Korea in 2000 The memorial became filled with sobs from the poem and the eulogies. The young boy’s miserable death, their bitter days, longing for their homeland, longing for their families and siblings…all of these must have caused their tears. Sung-Min planned the memorial and spent the night before in ..

Admin  |  2016-01-26 11:38:21  |  Hit 3953