North Korean Defector Reflects On Life 'Under The Same Sky'
Few can imagine what it is like to be homeless and starving as a child. Few can imagine life in the hermit kingdom of North Korea. However, refugee Joseph Kim knows both very well and he gives us a window into those worlds in his new memoir Under the Same Sky: From Starvation in North Korea to Salvation in America.
Kim became homeless during the great famine of the 1990s, which killed more than a million people including his father. After three years on the streets, he escaped to China where a network of activists connected him with the U.S. consulate. At 17 years old, Kim arrived in America as a refugee with no family and barely an education.
NPR's Arun Rath spoke with Kim about his harrowing experience as a homeless kid on the streets of North Korea, and how he finally made it to America.
Interview Highlights
On his life before the famine
I was only 4 or 5 years old when the famine began so I can't really remember much from before but what I can remember is that I was actually being able to play with my friends, everything was peaceful. I didn't have to worry about when the next meal was gonna come or whether we are gonna have food or not.
On losing his family at 12 years old
So my mom actually ended up making a very difficult decision to sell my older sister to Chinese men. She came back to me in North Korea and she explained to me but I didn't really understand at the time. But now I think about it and she did it so she could at least save her youngest child, which was me. After that my mom tried to go to China again to look for my sister and earn some money but she got caught so she was put in a prison facility.
On being homeless in North Korea
In order to survive as a homeless, probably one of the first things that you have to do is to give up your human dignity because if you try to keep yourself a human being and try to preserve your rights and right to be treated, you're not going to be able to ask for food. I mean it's really humiliating. You also have to cross the line where you have to stop worrying about or thinking about the morality. I was taught in school don't steal it but if I don't steal it, I can't survive.
On escaping to China
I crossed where the river was frozen so I was able to run across the border. There was no security guard. [The] distance was not that long, maybe like 100 yards, but I feel like that was the fastest I ran in my life.
On being a refugee in America
Friends treat me as just a normal Korean-American student — although they know my stories, I think my friends allow me to be part of their group without labeling me as a North Korean defector. I feel definitely welcomed and accepted.
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Transcript
KAREN GRIGSBY BATES, HOST:
Few of us can imagine what it's like to be homeless and starving as a child. Few of us can imagine life in the hermit kingdom of North Korea, but refugee Joseph Kim knows both very well. And he gives us a window into those worlds in his new memoir "Under The Same Sky: From Starvation In North Korea To Salvation in America." NPR's Arun Rath spoke with Joseph about his harrowing experience as a homeless boy on the streets of North Korea.
ARUN RATH, HOST:
There's a clear division in recent North Korean history - before the famine and after. And before the famine in the early 1990s, Joseph remembers a relatively happy childhood.
JOSEPH KIM: I was only 4 or 5 years old when the famine began. So I can't really remember much from before, but what I can remember is that I was actually being able to play with my friends. Everything was peaceful. I didn't have to worry about when is the next meals going to come or whether we are going to have food or not.
RATH: Soon things started to change. At first, it was little signs. Joseph's parents couldn't give him the extra snacks he liked to eat. They had to sell their TV.
KIM: And then I started listening my parents having conversation about how the neighborhood grandmother died of starvation. And that kind of stories continued on and on.
RATH: When Joseph was 12, his father died of starvation. His mother and sister went to China in search of work and food.
KIM: So my mom actually ended up - make a very difficult decision, which was to sell my older sister to Chinese man. Then she came back to me in North Korea and she explained to me, but I didn't really understand at the time. But now I think about it, like, I mean, my mom did it so that she could at least save her younger - youngest child, which was me. After that my mom tried to go to China again to look for my sister and earn some money, but she got caught, so she was put in the prison facility.
RATH: Joseph found himself alone and homeless. As a younger kid he was introverted, too shy to say hi to his classmates. Now, he was begging strangers for food.
KIM: In order to survive as homeless, probably one of the first things that you have to do is to keep up your human dignity, because if you try to keep yourself as human being and try to preserve that your rights and the right to be treated, you're not going to be able to ask for food. I mean, it's really humiliating.
RATH: Desperation drove him to be creative, courageous, even hopeful to survive, but it brought out a dark side.
KIM: You also have to cross that - the line where you have to stop worrying about or thinking about the morality. I mean, I was taught in school that don't steal it, but then if I don't steal it, I can't survive.
RATH: After three years on the streets, the 15-year-old Joseph didn't think he could survive any longer in North Korea. Having grown up in a town near the Chinese border, Joseph had heard stories of people who tried to escape in the night. Some made it across. Others were killed in the attempt. But Joseph had never heard of someone being audacious enough to cross the border during the day. He decided to take that risk.
KIM: I crossed where the river was frozen, so I was able to run across the border and there was no security guard. Distance was not that long - maybe, like, hundred yards, but I feel like that was probably the fastest that I ran in my life.
RATH: Once in China, Joseph soon connected with a network of activists helping North Korean refugees like himself. They got into the U.S. consulate and then to America. Joseph arrived in the U.S. in 2007 - a 17-year-old with no family and barely an education. Since then he's finished high school and moved to New York City for college.
KIM: Friends are treating me as just a normal Korean-American student. Although they know my stories, I think my friends allow me to be part of their group without labeling me as North Korean defector, so I feel definitely welcomed and accepted.
RATH: That's Joseph Kim. His new memoir is called "Under The Same Sky: From Starvation In North Korea To Salvation in America." It's out on Tuesday. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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