Joyful toasts and bitter memories: North Korean defectors grapple with death of Kim Jong Il
By Associated Press, Published: December 25
SEOUL, South Korea More than 21,000 North Koreans now live in South Korea. For many, the news of North Korean leader Kim Jong Ils death stirred mixed emotions.
Several interviewed in Seoul by The Associated Press described a burst of joy upon hearing that Kim had died, but also a surge of unease over the fate of relatives and friends and even a shadow of homesickness.
There was celebration one man had drinks with a friend and hope for a better future for their homeland. For one woman, there was sadness as she envisioned little girls cramming to memorize the Kims feats.
South Korea is no paradise for the defectors either; facing prejudice and lacking job skills, they rarely feel welcomed by their capitalist brethren.
Here, in their own words, are what three of them had to say:
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THE PAINTER
I felt rather calm after hearing of Kim Jong Ils death, said Song Byeok, 42, a painter who learned his art drawing propaganda posters in North Korea. I thought to myself about him: You, too, are human in the end.
It was his destiny. He couldnt avoid it. ... He was praised like a god, but in the end, he was only a human who fell like an autumn leaf.
Desperate for food in 2000, Song and his father tried to cross the river into China not to defect but just to get something to eat from relatives on the Chinese side.
He still believed Kim Jong Il was a good leader.
However, when his father was swept away by the current and drowned, border guards ignored Songs pleas to help rescue him;
N. Korean businessmen asking Chinese traders to offer condolences over Kim's death
DANDONG, China, Dec. 26 (Yonhap) — North Korean businessmen in China are asking their local business partners to offer condolences over the death of Kim Jong-il, apparently under pressure from their government back home, Chinese traders said Monday.
Kim, who ruled North Korea with an iron fist for 17 years, died of heart failure on Dec. 17, according to the North's state media. Since the announcement two days later, the country has set up condolence venues at its embassy in Beijing, its consular offices in Shenyang, Dandong and Yanji, and other locations in China with a large North Korean population, the traders said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
North Korean businessmen in China are apparently under pressure to draw more Chinese visitors to these venues in order to receive positive assessments from their superiors and avoid punishment, they added.
“All the North Korean traders I deal with have asked me to visit a condolence venue before the end of the mourning period on Dec. 29,” said one Chinese businessman in Dandong, which borders North Korea.
Other local traders said they were even asked to offer condolence money and wreaths of a particular size.
“I agreed to pay my respects (to Kim Jong-il) in order to save my business partner's face,” said another Chinese businessman, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The local traders said, however, that North Koreans often make monetary and other requests, such as when the country is hit by natural disasters.
North Korean residents in China are offering their condolences each day, apparently to show that the condolence venues draw many visitors, they added.
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