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Version 4 Version 5
'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' –​ a defector answers your questions​ ​
(35 minutes later)
2.09pm BST
14:09
Maeve Shearlaw
Hi all,
That’s all we have time for today but here’s a parting note from Sungju
Thank you so much for your questions and for your time. Please pay attention to the lives of the defectors who are currently suffering in China and there is more information about my personal story in my book if you are interested
Thanks again for all your questions.
Updated
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2.07pm BST
14:07
Leisure time in the UK vs leisure time in North Korea
What do you like to do in your down-time? Would the answer be very different if you were still in North Korea?
I usually watch movies and play football and sometimes read books. Of course it would be different, I don’t even know if I would be alive if I was still in North Korea
2.06pm BST
14:06
Learning English
How did you pick up the education necessary to go to university, in particular English skills? Did you get this education in North Korea or afterwards?
When I got to South Korea I thought that money was the most important thing, so I found work at a gas station and convenience store.
But one day I saw a person in a suit, she looked very professional which made me think: How can I be that kind of person in 10 or 20 years in my life? The answer was that I had to study. When I was 19, after I defected to South Korea, I started to learn English and then attended winter school and summer school so I could get the right qualifications
1.56pm BST
13:56
UK media coverage
What do you think of the UK's media coverage of life in North Korea and its politics? Is it fair?
They mostly cover nuclear weapons and the irrationality of the regime, but i’d also like to see them focus on the daily lives of individuals and the suffering of defectors living in China.
They are refugees but they don’t have camps to stay in and the Chinese government thinks that they are illegal immigrants. I’d really like to see the UK media do more on this
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1.53pm BST
13:53
Are you scared for your safety?
Are you still fearful of your own personal safety even though you're far away from North Korea? Will you ever feel safe?
This really depends on the situation and the place where I live. If I went to China I would feel fearful but in South Korea or the UK I feel safe
1.48pm BST
13:48
A quick fire round of questions
What political party do you support in the UK?
I’m not partisan
Do you support a football team in England and if so which one?
One of my favourite sports is football. I play twice every week (I am playing after this). I support Manchester United
Do you like chips and gravy?
How far are the North Korean authorities all-seeing and/or all-knowing?
No, I like rice and Kimchi
1.46pm BST
13:46
Defector literature
Have you read any other books written by defectors, or books written in the West about North Korea? How do they match your experiences?
Do you know much about "street gangs" over here, how do they differ?
I have read other books by defectors, the general experience is similar, but there are differences in the details because each city in north Korea is very isolated – like the life in London and Coventry of Birmingham is a different style of life.
I have also read books about North Korea written by westerners and these are more focused on the Kim regime and the life in Pyongyang. But there are two societies in one country Pyongyang, and outside of Pyongyang.
1.42pm BST
13:42
Should western tourists visit North Korea?
Would you want westerners to tour DPRK?
I went and have mixed feelings and responses from friends.
This is really difficult question, personally I want to tell westerners not to go visit because if they spend money there it goes to the government, which is not good, but I can’t force you not to go you have the right to travel anywhere. Also, if more westerners to go to North Korea than citizens might start to think differently about what’s outside.
1.39pm BST1.39pm BST
13:3913:39
Do North Koreans believe the propaganda?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?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?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 punishmentThey 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 BST1.36pm BST
13:3613:36
Life in a street gangLife 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?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.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.
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1.32pm BST1.32pm BST
13:3213:32
Will there by a North Korea without Kim Jong-un?Will there by a North Korea without Kim Jong-un?
Also by email Kenneth asks:Also by email Kenneth asks:
Will there be a DPRK post Kim Jong-un and who will be in succession?Will there be a DPRK post Kim Jong-un and who will be in succession?
Sungju responds: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 easilyI 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
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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
13:04
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?
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
13:03
How did you escape?
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.
1.01pm BST
13:01
Maeve Shearlaw
Hi All,
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.
Let’s begin ...
12.29pm BST
12:29
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:
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.
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.
Read the full verdict here
6.26pm BST
18:26
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.
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.
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.
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
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