Free Republic

SEOUL - Brokers here are busily selling what they call "planned escapes" from North Korea. Given enough money, the brokers say, they can now get just about anyone out of the dictatorial Stalinist state that human rights activists call the world's largest prison. A low-budget escape through China via Thailand to Seoul, which requires treacherous river crossings, arduous travel on foot and several miserable weeks in a Thai immigration jail, can cost less than $2,000, according to four brokers here. A first-class defection, complete with a forged Chinese passport and an airplane ticket from Beijing to Seoul, goes for more...

This is excerpted from posted comments by North Korean refugees learning English in Seoul. The teacher who passed on their comments from his students is an Australian, Brendan Brown. "9) What do North Koreans think of the U.S. government? The American people? Perhaps the most surprising responses here. While taught from kindergarten to hate everything about the U.S. and its people, while in North Korea there is no deviating from that position. Class did make a difference in people's perceptions though. Mrs. C., a journalist from Pyongyang before being sent to a rural area explained that those privileged few with...

May 13, 2005 - 07:38 PM Refugee Group Interview: North Korean Neocons! Defectors, Interviews, Politics, Refugeesby OneFreeKorea a/k/a WonsanGhetto Thanks again to reader Brendan Brown and his North Korean refugee students in Seoul, who have agreed to a second group interview to share their opinions about their homeland and give us a rare--albeit unscientific--glimpse into the perspective of ordinary North Koreans. Undoubtedly, it took great courage for them to discuss matters that could put them or their families at risk. For their protection, I have redacted details that could identify them. Brendan is an Australian national who teaches English to...

Sens. Sam Brownback and Ted Kennedy want to help the thousands of desperate North Koreans seeking freedom who each year embark on the treacherous journey across the border into China — but the senators must first defeat the staunchest opponent of their efforts: the U.S. State Department. Sens. Brownback and Kennedy last Wednesday introduced a bill that would solve a bureaucratic Catch-22 North Korean refugees face when attempting to seek asylum in the United States. The bill, which is almost identical to legislation Sen. Brownback offered last year, would classify North Korean refugees as North Koreans for asylum purposes. As...