On Wednesday, North Korean refugee Grace Jo, using an alias to protect her identity, came to the UW to share her journey and raise awareness for the human rights issues in North Korea in the “Secret Talks with North Korean Refugee” event held in Smith Hall.
Jo has endured tremendous loss in her life and experienced things people living in developed countries can hardly imagine.
Jo and her family lived in impoverished conditions, just like most people in North Korea. She said the North Korean government creates a lot of propaganda films trying to portray their country as a better place than it is, and the information is very misleading.
As a result of not being members of the upper class, Jo’s family had very little food when she was a child, and two of her brothers died of starvation. In a desperate search for food, Jo’s parents crossed the border to China. They successfully obtained some food but were subsequently arrested by the North Korean government after they returned.
When Jo’s mother returned home, she was in dire condition.
“She could barely walk due to the torture she suffered,” Jo said.
As the family struggled to support themselves, worse news came: Jo’s father passed away on a train to the prison camp. The North Korean government never formally charged her father of any legal offenses.
After an extremely difficult period of life with more losses to her family, the death of Jo’s grandmother was the last straw. Her mother decided to flee North Korea to save her remaining children.
However, their escape to China wasn’t a smooth journey. Despite the known dreadful condition of North Korea, the Chinese government repatriates North Korean refugees if they are discovered. Jo and her family had been sent back to North Korea several times, where they faced punishment, like torture and imprisonment.
Luckily, Jo and her family were eventually rescued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and entered the United States as legal refugees in 2008.
Many students had an emotional response after hearing of the incredible tragedy Jo lived through.
Joyce Im, a first-generation Korean American, said hearing the story in person made a much stronger impact on her than if she just heard it from the media.
“Hearing her story made me feel more compassionate and made me feel I really need to do something about the situation” Im said. “I want to contribute to the cause.”
Raising awareness was the primary goal of this event. As Jo said, young people are the ones who have the power to change the world.
The student organization, The Human Rights in North Korea (THINK) hosted the event. The founder of THINK, Hwayeon Myeong is one such examples of young people working hard to change the world.
“This [North Korean situation] is just heartbreaking,” Myeong said.
Myeong’s passion to help the North Korean refugees led her to study multicultural education. She hopes to design a curriculum that will respect both the North and South Korean cultures and become an educator in Korea when the two Korease reunify, which she believes will happen in near future.
On her part, Jo has been working hard to enter law school, where she hopes to study international law to help refugees like herself. More than enough research and reports have been done for us to see the situation in North Korea, she said.
“It’s time for action,” Jo said.
Reach contributing writer Sylvia Lin at development@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @SylvaLin13
