North Korea: political and social stigma - Essay Example

Jia: A Novel of North Korea Jia: A Novel of North Korea This novel depicts the “capricious political winds” in North Korea that has a gripping and terrifying effect on the lives of its citizens, especially those belonging to the “reactionary class,” or to the “extremely bad” and “commonly bad” (Kim, 2007). The political and social malaise were the powerful forces that drove these groups of people to flee to neighboring China, in search for a better life, as well as to escape political prosecution. One such person was Jia, a promising young dancer, whose family background had had a precarious effect on her relationships with those around her, including her fiancée. This essay traces her quest for survival in her own country, her escape to China, and her struggle and fierce determination to live and survive as a North Korean refugee in China. Jias political and social stigma arose from both her paternal grandfathers revolutionary activities for Korean independence (pp 10), and her fathers possession of foreign science books, of which he was charged for political treason (pp 13). Although her grandfather was reunited with his family when the Korean war ended, her father was taken away, and never to be seen again. His family was later charged for being related to him, and several day after he went missing, Jias mom, sister, and her paternal grandparents, were transported in a military truck into the isolated mountains, to the village for political offenders, labeled as the “commonly bad.” Jias mother was then pregnant with Jia. Her mother died after giving birth to her. From the day when Jia, then seven years old, was smuggled out of the prison camp to seek greener pastures in Pyongyang, she had cautiously followed her grandfathers instructions, never to reveal to anyone, anything about her family background. She was instead to give the impression that she was an orphan from a good family background. Jia had kept her family secret well, until she met her fiancee, Seunggyu, a military officer. Jia initially thought that, having been together for more than three years, and having strong feelings for each other, her fiancee would accept her, and overcome his prejudice against “those people” whom he called “traitors” (pp122-123). His response to her familys Jia: A Novel of North Korea 2 background, however, did not augur well for her. Not wanting to endanger those around her, especially her boss who was threatened by her fiancee, Jia was forced to plan her escape to China, during the winter of 1997. With the help of some friends, Jia managed to buy a travel permit for 50 US dollars, from the black market (pp 128). Together, they planned Jias escape route to Onsong, located at the far northeast border next to China. Jia told them that she had an aunt living there, who was sick. She was to travel to Hamhung first, and from there, board a train to Onsong. Alternatively, she could take the train from Pyongyang directly to Onsong. Upon arriving at the train station, however, Jia was told that no train would be running to Hamhung or Onsong due to an engine problem. Fearing that her fiancee would discover her escape plan, she took the conductors suggestion, and caught a car ride to Kowon. Jia and her group of seven had to bribe a military car, giving them 300 won each, to take them to Kowon, where there was a station with trains to Onsong. After going through some harrowing experiences like having to put up with the breakdown of the car, and being robbed of half of her money, Jia finally reached Kowon Station, where she befriended a boy by the name of Sangwon, who was to become her companion in crossing the border to China. The train to Onsong was delayed for four days, and when it finally arrived, Jia found herself scrambling and fighting to get into the train. The ride wasnt smooth either, as the train stopped a few times due to engine trouble. When the train finally approached the border in Hoeryong in the morning, which was a stop just before Onsong, Jia and her friend left the train, and hid themselves in the bushes Jia near the border of China (pp 155). They would wait until night to cross the border. When it was time to cross the river, Jia learned her first strategy and survival skill from Sangwon. Once they plunged into the river, it was no turning back. Jia was to swim quietly and quickly without looking back, even if she was spotted by the soldiers. The minute she reached the other side, she was to keep moving silently, until she find some bushes to hide. She was to stay there until it was Jia: A Novel of North Korea 3 safe again to move. Engulfed by the darkness, both Jia and Sangwon braved the cold by stripping themselves half-naked, plunged into the water, and swam for their life to the other side, without looking back. When they reached the riverbank, Jia scrambled onto the ground, her body shaking violently from the cold water. It took her sometime, though Jia had no idea how long, before she was able to be led by her small companion deep into the strange, new land (pp 159). Their flight from political prosecution in North Korea, however, did not end at the riverbank of China. In fact, it was the beginning of an even more terrifying and frightening ordeal. Facing the probability of being caught by the Chinese police, Jia and Sangwon could only maneuver their way through the mountains during the night, while hiding under bushes to catch some sleep, during the day. They faced the danger of running into wild animals, but they were left with no choice (pp 160-161). They were headed for the cave where Sangwon stayed, whenever he crossed the river. When they finally reached the cave after an arduous climb, Jia couldnt help feeling fearful, as she crept into the inconspicuous cave. In the dimness of the cave, she came across some refugees who were already there. More refugees returned to the cave as night fell. When it came time to cook dinner, Jia learned a strategic way of cooking rice without being caught by the police. Called the “cooking rice underground,” the method was to put uncooked rice in a plastic bag with water or snow, bury it, and light a fire on the ground with bush clover branches (pp 163). This was one of the strategies these people had learned during their guerilla training. Living in the mountains was easy for them, as they were able to put into practice, the ten years of mandatory military training which they had received in their country. Jia learned how to survive from these men. After several days of rest, Jia felt it was safe to step into the sunlight. No sooner than she had done that, she found herself confronted head-on with the Chinese police. In the ensuing struggle with one of them, Jia managed to break free, and ran straight ahead with all her might without looking back, and instinctively jumped into the nearest bushes. In that moment of chaos, Jia still remembered what Jia: A Novel of North Korea 4 Sangwon had taught her. As Jia laid stiff on the ground, she began to feel like a criminal, unwelcome, and unwanted (pp166-167). Questions began to flood her mind: “What am I looking for in this strange place?” “Where are my friends?” “What were my goals”? “What do I seek here?” Jia had initially thought that, by escaping to China, she would be able to live her life free from social status and prejudice, and that she would not be judged because of her family background. After this terrifying episode, she had realized it was not so. The same thing that had happened in North Korea, had repeated itself here; she had to keep running for fear of being caught. Her mind wondered back to her home, and she became angry with the fact that she was labeled a criminal because of what her parents had done. She became suicidal, and comforted herself by thinking that her death would have been more welcomed than her birth. Jia was later rescued by a fellow refugee from the cave, and learnt that several elderly ones were caught by the Chinese police, as they were unable to run away. Barely a week of surviving in the cave, Jias vagaries of life took another unpleasant and unexpected turn. The refugees had been regularly harassed and threatened by uninvited visitors who called themselves “intermediaries.” Their purpose of visiting the cave, was to look out for new faces, especially that of young women, and offer them jobs at brothels and nightclubs. Another words, their jobs were to sell women. They were able to take full advantage of these refugees, as they knew all too well that North Korean women were limited in their options in finding jobs, because of their illegal status in China. The men, on the other hand, could still work on farms or at construction sites for a third or half the wages of legal laborers, while children and the elderly could beg on the streets (pp 170-172). Jia was targeted by these unscrupulous men, who threatened to harm Sangwon, if she refused their offer of a “happy and secure life.” Despite hers and Sangwons fierce resistance towards them, they were, unfortunately, unable to prevent these men from kidnapping Jia, with the help of a fellow refugee, who betrayed her for money. Her next chapter in life would begin at a downtown karaoke bar. At the karaoke bar, Jia was curtly told by the woman boss that Jias body belonged to her, and Jia: A Novel of North Korea 5 that Jia had to work until she was able to reimburse the high price she was paid for by the boss. Calling her an “illegal vagrant,” Jia was warned that she could be reported to the police, and dragged away within minutes (pp 186). Jias first assignment, however, ended in utter disaster, when a stout Chinese man spoke to her in Korean, and ordered her to take off her underpants. He had deliberately trapped her in a game song, in which one was forfeited if he or she could not sing the song that was randomly selected. Jia stood frozen for a minute, and all hell broke lose, when she suddenly turned to leave. As the stout man grabbed her arm and dragged her back to the table, Jia, in turn, grabbed the nearest object she could get hold off, and hit him on his head. In the midst of shrieks and chaos, a Chinese voice rose above the din, and commanded everyone to be quiet. That voice turned out to be Jias savior. Jia was rescued from the shady karaoke bar by Jin, the Chinese businessman, who had paid a high price for her, to the bar owner. Jin had recognized Jia as a North Korean refugee, and took pity on her, partly also because Jin himself was half Korean (pp 204). They communicated in English when they discovered that he could not speak Korean, while she could not speak Chinese. Jin had spent most of his years living and studying in England. The first thing Jin did for Jia, was to engage a Chinese tutor to teach Jia the language. It was for her survival in China, he told her. When he discussed plans for her to get legal status in South Korea, as she could not get legal status in China, Jia told him that she could not leave China as yet. Jia shared her secret life to him, and told him that her official defection to another country could only endanger the lives of her family and friends back home (pp 229-230). She had to try to survive in China first, as she believed there was still hope of hearing from her friends. Jin then found a way to circumvent the law. He knew of a Korean-Chinese family whose daughter had committed suicide several days ago. They did not report her death, as they were too shameful to to talk about it. His friend suggested to them to sell their daughters ID, instead of reporting her death to the local office. No one would know about it except her parents. Jia could use their daughters ID, have legal status, and be free to live in China. Jia has become another person (pp 231). Read More