An Hyuk (born 1968) is a

North Korean defector People defect from North Korea for political, material, and personal reasons. Defectors flee to various countries, mainly South Korea. In South Korea, they are referred to by several terms, including "northern refugees" and "new settlers". To ...

Escape from North Korea

He formerly lived as an expatriate in China, and repatriated to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

in 1986; however, he was accused of spying, and imprisoned at the

Yodok concentration camp Yodok concentration camp (; ) was a '' kwalliso'' in North Korea. The official name was Kwan-li-so (penal labour colony) No. 15. The camp was used to segregate those seen as enemies of the state, punish them for political misdemeanors, and put ...

. He was released in 1989 alongside Kang Chol-Hwan, whom he met while interned at Yodok. The two became friends and had found interest in foreign broadcasting. He was quite interested in outside information and eventually got involved in anti-government activity. He was later identified and watched by the government; fearing he would be sent back to the concentration camp, he planned his escape. In 1992, he and Kang escaped from North Korea by crossing the

Yalu River The Yalu River () or Amnok River () is a river on the border between China and North Korea. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between China and North Korea. Its valle ...

into

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. They arrived in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in late 1992 and has resided there in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. The hardest challenge for them was getting on the train to the border of China undetected. All of the North Korean trains were monitored by the authorities. To gain passage, they had to bribe the police to gain permission to travel. Eventually, they made it to the border city of Chanbai, China near Hyesan, North Korea, where they stayed temporarily, making numerous deals with the North Korean military there by buying them beer and drinks. Later, the North Korean military informed them there was a changing of the guard at 2 AM. An Hyuk and Kang took their chance and crossed the river into China without any complications. After they made it across, North Korean patrols came looking for them, searching for about a week. They hid in China for about 6 months and eventually made their way to Dalian, where some ethnic Koreans helped them get passage to South Korea.

Internet broadcasting

In 2002, he established the company Televi inc. and started an internet program called ''showboo'' (www.showboo.com). Besides his own program to bridge the gap between the two Koreas, the show hosted segments from South Korean celebrities like

Tak Jae-hoon Bae Sung-woo (; born 24 July 1968), better known by his stage name Tak Jae-hoon (), is a South Korean singer, actor and entertainer. He first became known for being part of K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a fo ...

, Park Sang-min, Hong Rok-gi, and Kim Jung-min.

Film

In 2012, he produced and invested in a documentary film about North Korean human rights called '48M' with the title of the film referring to the shortest distance that is possible to cross the

. The film had a special screening at the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

with the funding of North Korean human rights activist Suzanne Scholte and it was also specially screened at the United Nations human rights committee in Geneva.

Awards

Along with Kang and

Lee Soon-ok Lee Soon-ok (born 1947 in Chongjin, North Korea) is a North Korean defector and the author of '' Eyes of the Tailless Animals: Prison Memoirs of a North Korean Woman'', her account of being falsely accused, tortured, and imprisoned under poor ...

, who was imprisoned in Kaechon concentration camp, he received the Democracy Award from the United States'

National Endowment for Democracy The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a quasi-autonomous non-governmental organization in the United States founded in 1983 with the stated aim of advancing democracy worldwide and counter communism, communist influence abroad, by prom ...

in July 2003.

Publications

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References

1968 births Living people North Korean defectors North Korean escapees North Korean expatriates in China Prisoners and detainees of North Korea {{NorthKorea-bio-stub