The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, a notorious communist regime, invaded it's
neighbor South Korea in 1950. The united States and South Korea signed an armistice with North
Korea in 1953 that stopped the fighting but technically leaves the countries in a state
of war. The heavily armed demilitarized zone that separates the two Koreas made news recently
when a North Korean soldier fled across it to South Korea. This is one way to escape
from the brutal Kim regime, but probably the one with the least chance of success.
So let’s get to it and we’ll look at some of the ways to escape from North Korea.
Spirited Away
The people of North Korea had a long tradition of Christianity that was nearly demolished
when strongman Kim Il-Sung was installed as the president of the country by the Soviet
Union. Sung, his son and his grandson, Kim Jong-Un have generally done their best to
suppress religion. While most North Koreans wishing to defect can't physically escape
the miserable living conditions, some measure of faith might create hope for a better world
to come, and perhaps more importantly, it could act as an agent of change that could
eventually help overthrow the evil Kim regime.
Waiting to Escape
You might be surprised to learn that the North Korean government operates about 100 restaurants
around the world including in China, Dubai, Cambodia and the Netherlands. The employees
are North Koreans who double as staff and performers. Most of the revenues the restaurants
generate is sent back to the Communist government so the employees don't make much money. However,
living abroad gives them a chance to make good their escape and begin new lives abroad.
This has happened periodically, but exact numbers are hard to come by.
Wild Blue Yonder
North Korea has a national airline with aging planes with the distinction of being the only
airline in the world to have earned a one star rating. Air Koryo flys outdated, rickety
jets and is famous—or should we say infamous—for its bad service. The airline also boasts a
limited list of destinations, but it does have one thing to recommend it to North Koreans:
a way to escape. You have to be a pretty distinguished North Korean to even board one of these planes
such as part of the diplomatic service or a business man. But if you are lucky enough
to get a seat it might be possible to make it a one way trip to a better place. Tellingly,
members of the airliner crews have been known to occasionally "miss" their flights back
to the Hermit Kingdom.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Refugees around the globe have escaped their home country by boat, but this method of flight
carries added risks for North Koreans. Escapees can try their luck from the east or the west
coast, however either route is a long and perilous journey because the craft have to
give the coastline a wide berth to avoid North Korea's coastal patrol boats. Even if they
avoid the North Korean authorities, refugees must still brave turbulent seas. They are
often forced to use small, barely seaworthy boats that are as likely to sink as to make
landfall.
Choose Chongjin
There are no great places to live in North Korea, but if you can manage it Chongjin might
be a good choice. Unlike most North Korean cities, it has a decent amount of commerce
and industry with contacts with China. Chongjin also has a railroad hub, an airport, a tram,
and a river runs through it. This collection of attributes represent possible avenues of
escape for North Koreans who are willing to take their chances and try to slip across
the border with China. Unfortunately charming Chongjin is also known for its prison labor
and reeducation camps so most potential defectors understandably try to avoid the city.
Exchanging Your Life
It’s important that we not confuse the North Korean people and heritage with its oppressive
government. North Korea has many wonderful cultural traditions, but much of this has
been obscured in the international eye by the government's lame propaganda attempts
to represent Kim Jong-un as a god like figure and the nation as a mega-utopia. Cultural
exchange programs allow the regime to show off its sports, dancing and music to the
world, but only in service to the larger propaganda effort. However, when these performers are
allowed to travel abroad they have an opportunity to make their escape. The government certainly
has minders keeping an eye on them, but some North Koreans have been able to flee their
captors in this way.
Laboring to Escape
One of the ways North Korea makes money is to send workers abroad to work in foreign
labor camps. The workers are essentially slave labor with their earnings sent directly back
to the regime. Russian work camps in Siberia are one of the more common destinations, but
their remote location in the vast wastes make it an unwelcome prospect. However, some North
Koreans consider any assignment to be an improvement over the misery they leave behind. Any opportunity
to live abroad, however difficult, is an opportunity to try to escape the horrors of The Kim regime
by melting into the local population.
Smuggled to Freedom
The best route for North Koreans into South Korea is often a dangerous journey through
China. For a price, smugglers, sometimes referred to as "snakehead" gangs will take refugees
through China staying at various hideouts and safe houses until transportation by sea
or air can be arranged to get them to South Korea. Relying on a shadowy smuggling operation
has its own risks and refugees are sometimes robbed, turned over to the authorities or
sold into slavery. But for the ones lucky enough to make it to freedom the perils of
smuggling are well worth the risk.
Running to Asylum
For any North Koreans fortunate enough to be living or traveling abroad, foreign embassies
provide an opportunity for escape. However, this option has its own set of dangers that
refugees must contend with if they are be successful. Many countries will grant North
Koreans asylum if they can get inside the embassy gates, but there are notable exceptions
such as China and Russia. Adding to the danger, North Korean agents sometimes stake out embassies
ready to pounce on refugees if they try to defect. if they're caught they will be hustled
back to North Korea and imprisoned or worse.
A Sporting Chance
There is apparently no record of a North Korean Olympic athlete defecting during the games,
and the team will be competing in South Korea in the 2018 winter games. One of the few privileges
of being an athlete or a member of a team staff in the Hermit Kingdom is the opportunity
to visit other countries. Whether as a member of the state soccer team, an Olympic wrestler
or a team doctor, traveling to other countries is the best chance many have to leave the
past behind. They would have to be careful not to tip off the government minders watching
them for signs of trouble.
Leaving on a Jet Plane
Not everyone can be fighter pilot, but if you
can be one in North Korea it could be your ticket out of the country. A brave pilot proved
it could be done at the end of the Korean War when No Kum-Sok decided he'd had enough.
He flew his Russian made MiG-15 down to South Korea at more than 600 miles per hour to Kimpo
Air Base. Not only did he live out his life in freedom, he also collected the $100,000
standing reward for defecting with his plane. The plane was repainted with a U.S. Air Force
insignia and color scheme.
Graduating to Freedom
It is unclear why such a repressive regime as North Korea's would allow some of its young
people to travel abroad as students, but it does. Not surprisingly, some of them try to
defect instead of returning home to a life of deprivation. The Communist government takes
steps to prevent this, such as treating family members back home as hostages and a pervasive
security service that monitors its citizens when they are living abroad. Students who
use this as an avenue of escape risk capture and condemning their family to prison or worse.
Riding the Rails
Like the underground railroad in America that helped hustle slaves from the South to freedom
in the North, there’s an underground railroad in Asia that North Koreans use to escape.
The routes are long and dangerous with refugees crossing the border into China before heading
toward places like Thailand to try to build a new life. Unlike China, Thailand does not
forcibly return North Koreans to their home country where they may be imprisoned or killed.
Some refugees take another route toward Mongolia and are forced to make a treacherous trip
through the Gobi desert. Regardless of the route taken, they face a tough journey that
can easily end badly.
It's Good to be King
The North Korean Regime isn't known for handing out perks to its citizens, but for a dear
few elites life can be enjoyable in the Hermit Kingdom. High ranking military and diplomatic
personnel as well as successful businessmen have access to better food and housing, but
also something much more valuable: a chance to escape. The elites simply have more resources
and more contacts with the outside world, and these open up opportunities that the average
North Korean doesn't have. Most of them have them have been poisoned by a lifetime of propaganda
and fear that keeps them in line, but every year a handful of elites try to climb over
the fortress walls to freedom.
The Running Man
The Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea runs for 160 miles and divides the peninsula
in half. This is the most heavily guarded border in the world. Thousands of soldiers
still technically at war with one another scowl across the mine fields and fences. The
young soldier pictured here, for example, was shot several times by his fellow guards
as he fled across the border. South Korean doctors who examined him revealed that he
was suffering from malnutrition and his digestive tract was infested with parasites. This direct
approach doesn't seem like the best way to make an escape, but a few North Koreans have
tried, and some have made it to freedom.
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