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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/sep/13/i-was-in-a-north-korean-street-gang-now-i-study-at-warwick-any-questions
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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| 'I was in a North Korean street gang, now I study at Warwick' – any questions? | 'I was in a North Korean street gang, now I study at Warwick' – any questions? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.39pm BST | |
| 13:39 | |
| Do North Koreans believe the propaganda? | |
| Do North Koreans believe all the propaganda (about the rest of the world and about how infallible Kim Jong Un is)? Or do they know the truth but fear reprisals? What could China do to help? | |
| Are North Koreans being held hostage by their own dictatorial government? | |
| They used to, but now with the flow of information in to the country they no longer believe or care about the propaganda. Now people just care about their daily lives, but still pretend to respect the government because they fear punishment | |
| 1.36pm BST | |
| 13:36 | |
| Life in a street gang | |
| Sungju Lee, the report say you are left to fend yourself on the streets while the headline implies you were in North Korea street gang. As a gang member does the gang fend you? If they do against whom? Are there many homeless living streets of North Korea? Where do you get your meals in the streets? | |
| After my parents left home I became a street boy and with 6 friends we became a street gang. You join to survive, to protect each other, but we were vulnerable and people were easily damaged and died on the street. At that time there were so many homeless children, but they had no support from the government. They were more interested in “cleaning” the train station where many stayed and sometimes they’d kick them out in winter when temperatures dipped to minus –15 degrees. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.37pm BST | |
| 1.32pm BST | |
| 13:32 | |
| Will there by a North Korea without Kim Jong-un? | |
| Also by email Kenneth asks: | |
| Will there be a DPRK post Kim Jong-un and who will be in succession? | |
| Sungju responds: | |
| I don’t know... how can I predict the future in 5 or 10 years? There are some predications that he has physical problems but if he died North Korea would not collapse that easily | |
| 1.29pm BST | |
| 13:29 | |
| The arts | |
| By email Amber asks: | |
| Have you had much experience of contemporary arts since coming to the UK? And how does it compare with art inside North Korea? | |
| Sungju says: | |
| I have been really busy with my studies so I don’t have a chance to visit any art galleries so while I can’t compare it with the UK, I can explain North Korean art which is mostly focused on praising the government. | |
| It also tends to focus on the community which has to serve one leader Kim Jong-un. In short the only purpose of North Korean art is to serve the Kim dynasty. | |
| 1.23pm BST | |
| 13:23 | |
| Arriving in South Korea | |
| What was your experience with the South Korean National Intelligence Service upon your arrival there? What kind of questioning did you experience? What did they tell you you could or could not do or say after you were released? | |
| They were really nice and they treated me well, because at that time I was 16, only a kid. I don’t remember the questions really – my name, my home town and my experience –but I don’t remember the specifics. I also don’t remember there being any restrictions on what I should say | |
| 1.20pm BST | |
| 13:20 | |
| Nuclear weapons | |
| with the heavy sanction imposed on the country how is it developing nuclear technology but not food and other public benefit technologies? | |
| Developing nuclear weapons is a rational choice for North Korea, who believe they are crucial for regime survival and more effective than pouring a lot of money into the military. And they choose this over investing in food for people or other things that will benefit the public every time | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.21pm BST | |
| 1.12pm BST | |
| 13:12 | |
| Life after university | |
| What do you plan to do after you graduate? Do you feel any pressure to do anything to push for the better in North Korea? Or do you just want to take full advantage of your life in the West to achieve your individual full potential? | |
| My plan after finishing my masters degree is to apply for a PHD programme in the UK or US because want to learn more about the reunification policy. To me reunification has two meanings, firstly it’s the only way I can go home and secondly, if we do it right both North Korea and South Korea will benefit. | |
| I believe all that defectors have some sort of duty to prepare for reunification, but personally I am really interested in rescuing refugees in China who may be at risk of being repatriated back to North Korea | |
| 1.09pm BST | |
| 13:09 | |
| Life in the UK | |
| What was the top 5 things that you noticed were different, when you came to the UK? | |
| Firstly The weather, I can experience 4 seasons in a day! Then the nature, the green and trees and especially lakes – on campus there is one with geese. The style of lectures is different – in Korea professors talk a lot and students have to absorb everything but here students can teach the professor - there is a discussion. And the food, compared to South Korea the food is not so good here and then the water tastes funny too. | |
| 1.04pm BST | 1.04pm BST |
| 13:04 | 13:04 |
| Do North Koreans believe they live in a workers’ paradise? | Do North Koreans believe they live in a workers’ paradise? |
| In North Korea, do most people hate the situation that they are kept in by the authorities, whilst keeping up a public face in order to avoid getting into trouble? Or are there significant numbers of regular people who genuinely believe that they are in a workers' paradise and being led by benevolent rulers? | In North Korea, do most people hate the situation that they are kept in by the authorities, whilst keeping up a public face in order to avoid getting into trouble? Or are there significant numbers of regular people who genuinely believe that they are in a workers' paradise and being led by benevolent rulers? |
| Most people hate the situation but they are told by the North Korean government that it has been created by the United States. People also live under the fear of the three generation of punishment policy: if you make a mistake against the government then you and your whole family will be sent to prison camp for lifetime on the charge of high treason. | Most people hate the situation but they are told by the North Korean government that it has been created by the United States. People also live under the fear of the three generation of punishment policy: if you make a mistake against the government then you and your whole family will be sent to prison camp for lifetime on the charge of high treason. |
| 1.03pm BST | 1.03pm BST |
| 13:03 | 13:03 |
| How did you escape? | How did you escape? |
| How did you manage to escape ???! And how did you fund yourself ? Pls answer this !! | How did you manage to escape ???! And how did you fund yourself ? Pls answer this !! |
| When I was 12 my father left home to get food in China and then he managed to escape from China to South Korea. He resettled there and he sent a broker from South Korea to North Korea to bring me there. It cost him a lot of money. | When I was 12 my father left home to get food in China and then he managed to escape from China to South Korea. He resettled there and he sent a broker from South Korea to North Korea to bring me there. It cost him a lot of money. |
| 1.01pm BST | 1.01pm BST |
| 13:01 | 13:01 |
| Maeve Shearlaw | Maeve Shearlaw |
| Hi All, | Hi All, |
| Just to let you know that Sungju is with us and we are ready to start. | Just to let you know that Sungju is with us and we are ready to start. |
| Please continue to leave your questions in the comments and he’ll answer as many as he can in the next hour. | Please continue to leave your questions in the comments and he’ll answer as many as he can in the next hour. |
| Let’s begin ... | Let’s begin ... |
| 12.29pm BST | 12.29pm BST |
| 12:29 | 12:29 |
| Maeve Shearlaw | Maeve Shearlaw |
| As we countdown to the Q&A (30 minutes to go) I wanted to share a review of Sungju’s memoir by young reader Patrick Sproull who said: | As we countdown to the Q&A (30 minutes to go) I wanted to share a review of Sungju’s memoir by young reader Patrick Sproull who said: |
| Every Falling Star presents North Korea as a horrifying real-life dystopia. The book, the first of its kind aimed at young adults, is a first-person account of what it is like to be born and raised in a terrifying environment. | Every Falling Star presents North Korea as a horrifying real-life dystopia. The book, the first of its kind aimed at young adults, is a first-person account of what it is like to be born and raised in a terrifying environment. |
| Lee describes how he ate insects to survive, became a pickpocket and, in one of the book’s most heartbreaking scenes, was forced to bury some of his close friends. | Lee describes how he ate insects to survive, became a pickpocket and, in one of the book’s most heartbreaking scenes, was forced to bury some of his close friends. |
| Every Falling Star is part memoir, part history lesson – a welcome approach as reliable information from the country is notoriously tricky to source. | Every Falling Star is part memoir, part history lesson – a welcome approach as reliable information from the country is notoriously tricky to source. |
| Young adult literature has repeatedly proved it can be as emotionally mature as adult fiction, a fact sometimes misjudged by new writers to the genre. Lee does not patronise or dilute any of the emotion in his account – several chapters are harrowing to read, and the book is better for it. | Young adult literature has repeatedly proved it can be as emotionally mature as adult fiction, a fact sometimes misjudged by new writers to the genre. Lee does not patronise or dilute any of the emotion in his account – several chapters are harrowing to read, and the book is better for it. |
| Read the full verdict here | Read the full verdict here |
| 6.26pm BST | 6.26pm BST |
| 18:26 | 18:26 |
| Maeve Shearlaw | Maeve Shearlaw |
| Aged 12 years old Sungju Lee was left to fend for himself on the streets of Gyeong-seong in the north-east of North Korea. Just over 15 years later, he enrolled in a masters at the UK’s prestigious Warwick University. | Aged 12 years old Sungju Lee was left to fend for himself on the streets of Gyeong-seong in the north-east of North Korea. Just over 15 years later, he enrolled in a masters at the UK’s prestigious Warwick University. |
| The young defector escaped in 2002, starting a long journey which has seen him set up a charity to support North Korean refugees living in China and become an outspoken advocate for reform in the country he left behind. | The young defector escaped in 2002, starting a long journey which has seen him set up a charity to support North Korean refugees living in China and become an outspoken advocate for reform in the country he left behind. |
| Sungju has said that he would like to return home one day, but that it would require reunification with the South: one of the world’s longest running diplomatic standoffs. | Sungju has said that he would like to return home one day, but that it would require reunification with the South: one of the world’s longest running diplomatic standoffs. |
| But with a fifth nuclear test launched by the North heightening tensions on the peninsula once more, the possibility couldn’t seem further away. | But with a fifth nuclear test launched by the North heightening tensions on the peninsula once more, the possibility couldn’t seem further away. |
| As Sungju releases Every Falling Star, the first North Korean defector memoir aimed at young adults, he has agreed to join us live on Tuesday 13 September from 1-2pm GMT, to answer your questions about North Korea, his story, and what he believes in the best way to engage with the regime. | As Sungju releases Every Falling Star, the first North Korean defector memoir aimed at young adults, he has agreed to join us live on Tuesday 13 September from 1-2pm GMT, to answer your questions about North Korea, his story, and what he believes in the best way to engage with the regime. |
| Post your questions in the comments below and he will answer as many as he can in the hour. Alternatively you can email them to maeve.shearlaw@theguardian.com | Post your questions in the comments below and he will answer as many as he can in the hour. Alternatively you can email them to maeve.shearlaw@theguardian.com |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 10.07am BST | at 10.07am BST |