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| Eom Yeong-nam / Courtesy of Eom Yeong-nam |
North Korean defector Eom Yeong-nam discussed some of the main points of a speech that he will present in full context on May 15th at the Asia Regional Conference hosted by Freedom Speakers International with support from UniKorea. ― Ed.
By Eom Yeong-nam
I spent a decade in the North Korean army before being released in 2010. Shortly after that, I escaped from North Korea to South Korea, lived in Canada for two years, and earned a master's degree in public administration from Korea University.
I struggled to find freedom after I escaped from North Korea.
I didn't exactly know what freedom meant to me at that time.
Nowadays, I can say that freedom can be used to overcome suffering.
There are two different kinds of suffering. One, North Korean style of suffering. I had no idea how to overcome it.
For example, I was physically and verbally attacked when I was in North Korea, and I also suffered from hunger.
I couldn't solve this problem when I was in North Korea.
Moreover, it was getting worse and worse. There were no human rights and no freedom.
There isn't only suffering in North Korea. There is a second and completely different kind of suffering outside of North Korea.
I felt like an alien when I arrived in South Korea for the first time.
Because of the cultural differences, language barrier, political and social discrimination, and homesickness.
Even though, I graduated from college in North Korea, I had no hope about getting a quality job there.
What freedom means to me is suffering, but freedom also presents the opportunity to overcome suffering.
People can try to reduce the education gap between North and South Korea by learning English or studying in graduate school. It is still possible to achieve when there is freedom.
That suffering happened to me because I'm from North Korea.
However, I have overcome those challenges and I am enjoying freedom because I have a special strength that I gained when I was in North Korea.
Eom's unscripted remarks were edited by Casey Lartigue, editor of Voices from the North.
