North Koreans Leave Simply to Eat and Be Free

There is a new movie about North Korea that I’m eager to see. Apparently it’s tough to watch, because it is about defectors who have made the crossing over the Tumen River into China in search of food and a better life. Melanie Kirkpatrick wrote about a new film called “The Crossing” in yesterday’s WSJ. She described scenes of child beggars in the local marketplace, who stand at a distance from the peddlars and shoppers, proferring open plastic bags that they hope someone will toss a bread crust or the poured remains of a bowl of noodles.

These are the scenes that the Dear Leader, Kim Sung Il, desperately wants nobody to see. That’s why every story about North Korea includes tales of guides who emphatically prohibit any photographs of people on the streets, keeping the few tourist’s cameras trained on the monuments to the Great Leader instead.

“Food is so scarce that his wife scavenges wild vegetables and the beloved family dog is eventually eaten to provide protein. Neighbors disappear one night when police discover bibles hidden in their ceiling.” The film’s scenes are culled from the chilling tales of a hundred former North Koreans now living in the south. When female river crossers get over to China, they are often sold as ‘brides to Chinese-Korean men or made to work in brothels. Men usually hide in the forests or work in logging camps, hoping to make it to South Korea overland.

China refuses to let the UN help these refugees, since that would mean admitting that there is a big problem on their North Korea border. The worst fate of all for the refugees is to be repatriated back home–since this means hard labor in a prison camp or execution.