[Feature] N.K. defector finds it necessary to lie due to S.K. prejudice

Posted on : 2007-03-07 14:52 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST

South Koreans are only comfortable ‘when they don’t really know each other’, he says

Lee Ho-seung (not his real name), a 24-year-old North Korean defector with a slim figure and a handsome face, speaks standard South Korean dialect perfectly. Unless he reveals the fact that he came from the North, it would be difficult to guess.

Lee, who arrived in the South alone in late 2002, nearly perfectly adapted himself to South Korean society in only a year, which was no easy feat.

When Lee entered high school in the Seoul metropolitan area as a junior in early 2003, he tried to find a part-time job. By the end of the job interview, the company was ready to hand Lee the job. But one of his interviewers, curious about Lee’s dialect, asked, "Where are you from?" Hearing the reply, the official said that he would contact Lee later, but that was the last Lee heard from the company. After about 10 further attempts to get a part-time job, all ending in the same manner, he realized that his accent mattered.

Since then, he has tried to speak exactly like people in the South. He repeatedly practiced the standard South Korean accent while watching television. He often spoke into the mirror, watching his mouth as he enunciated the words. Now his accent is barely discernible.

However, before long, he realized that communication depends on "hearts," not "mouths." Lee was dating a South Korean girl, and she took him home to meet her parents. When they found out that he was a North Korean defector, they advised their daughter not to meet him. It was a total shock.

In 2005, Lee revealed to his new girlfriend of about three months that he came from North Korea. She did not want to believe it. Lee explained the fact over and over again, but she did not trust his words. When they met the next time, Lee showed her a document which he had gotten from the U.N. shortly before he came to South Korea. She dumped him soon after that.

"After that incident, I am afraid of women and I can’t trust them," said Lee. "Even if I get married, I won’t tell my wife that I am a North Korean defector for two or three years," added Lee.

Lee is working at a noraebang (karaoke room) and a restaurant in a city near Seoul. He has been working there almost two years, but his colleagues do not know that he came from the North. It seems that Lee’s life is one big masquerade ball. Here in the South, he says, people are more comfortable and communicate more smoothly with each other when they do not really know one another.

Though, clearly, Lee has adapted to South Korean society more quickly than have other North Korean defectors. According to a survey conducted last month by Seoul National University professor Kim Hye-ran, about a third of 65 young defectors interviewed missed their lives in North Korea.

Lee said that South Korean society does not properly accept North Korean defectors. "Whenever North Korean defectors make trouble by taking drugs or committing theft, the public accuses all defectors. However, these defectors are just a small portion of people from the North. I wish South Koreans would encourage those North Korean defectors who are trying hard to adapt to South Korean society. The defectors do receive government aid to settle here, but they are also living in this society and paying taxes," Lee said.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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