Monthly Archives: August 2016
Kato Pleased with Happily Resettled North Korean Families
It’s well worth it
Hiroshi Kato
Hiroshi Kato, the executive director of LFNKR, participated July 3 in the annual exchange party for NK refugees held in Osaka. Joining the party were about 50 former North Korean defectors who have resettled in the Kansai region (south-western half of Japan, including Osaka). Attending were three generations, ranging from babies under the age of one up to 70 years-old.
Kato was overwhelmed by their boundless energy. They sang and danced to Karaoke without a break for three hours straight. He was very impressed by their extremely good singing … and by their dancing, which surprise him. He saw waltzes and jitterbugging rather than more traditional Korean dances.
From Supported to Supporter
5 Years Later
By K. Matsubara (alias) – Former North Korean Refugee
A Korean proverb says that “mountains and rivers change in 10 years.” It obviously means that 10 years is a long time and brings big changes. Then, what changes have my husband and I experienced in the past 5 years since we finally entered Japan?
Actually, we have gone through many, many changes. For a while after coming to Japan, everything seemed new to us and difficult to get used to. But now, we can handle most things without asking for help. Although we have not yet achieved our biggest goal, I feel that we have achieved great growth both spiritually and financially. And we are now able to help other North Korean people needing assistance.
Price of Freedom Soaring
I Want to See my Daughters as Soon as Possible
By Pak Sung Hee (alias), a Former NK Refugee
I once lived in Chongjin, North Hamgyong. From the 1990’s (the time of the “Arduous March”) through early 2000 we experienced severe starvation. I realized that my whole family would starve to death if something didn’t change, so I crossed the Tumen River into China to bring back food. I bitterly regret, however, that I was never able to make it back to Chongjin where my family was waiting for me.
My father is Japanese, and my mother was an ethnic Korean resident of Japan. Years earlier my parents had believed the propaganda claiming that North Korea was a Paradise on Earth. So, together, they immigrated to North Korea.