Jang Gil-su (; born 1984) 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 ...
who fled
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 1999 at age 15.
Defection
In January 1999, Jang Gil-su and his family, living in
Hoeryeong
Hoeryŏng () is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It is located opposite Jilin Province, China, with the Tumen River in between. Sanhe (三合鎮), in Longjing City, is the closest Chinese town across the river. Hoeryŏng is the bir ...
,
North Hamgyeong Province, crossed the
Tumen River
The Tumen River (, , ; Korean pronunciation: tumaŋaŋ">Help:IPA/Korean">tumaŋaŋ, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River, is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China (left shore), North Korea (right) and Russi ...
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 lived in China with the help of some ethnic Koreans in China and South Korean activist groups. During this time, he had to avoid Chinese surveillance and had to beg for food. Later, Jang returned twice to North Korea, risking arrest and execution, to smuggle out more of his relatives. In March 2000, Jang Gil-su’s mother, Chung Sun-mi, was repatriated and handed over to the North Korean State Security Agency. On June 26, 2001, after storming the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jang and few of his relatives were permitted to stay in the office of the UNHCR in Beijing. He requested to be sent to South Korea, and on June 30 of that same year, he arrived in South Korea via
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
.
Life after defection
In 2004, Jang Gil-su graduated from high school three years from the time he first arrived in South Korea. Once in college, he planned on majoring in North Korean studies. He chose North Korean studies because it is an area he knows most about, and he felt he needed to do something for those trapped in North Korea; in particular, his parents.
In a letter sent to South Korean Ambassador to the United States,
Yang Sung-chul, on August 13, 2002, Senator
Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the List of governors of Kansas, 46th governor of K ...
, supported by Senator
Edward Kennedy
Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
, invited teenage defector Jang Kil-soo and his family to a photograph exhibition and reception in their honor to be held in the
U.S. Capitol Rotunda in early September, and the senators urged the South Korean government to allow Jang to visit it.
Memoir
Jang's memoir, 눈물로 그린 무지개, or ''The Rainbow I Painted With My Tears: A refugee boy's story in his own words and drawings'', was published by Moonhak Soochop (Seoul). It was also published in Japan ().
His story is told in English (and illustrated by Gil Su) through a book, ''Out of North Korea''.
See also
*
North Korean defectors
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 ...
References
External links
Teenaged North Korean Defector Reads Memoirs on RFA-Korean
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jang, Gil-Su
North Korean defectors
Living people
1984 births
People from Hoeryong
21st-century North Korean writers