A lunch to remember at the Bierhof, December 18, 2013

My friend Yong Yoon mentioned that there was a man I should meet, and I was willing. We were introduced over lunch at the Bierhof, kitty-corner to the Halla Classic Building where Mr. Yoon and I work. I will begin by saying that the Bierhof, owned and operated by Dal-Bong Park, is a nice place. It’s clean, it’s reasonably priced (7,000 won), and the food is both good and abundant. I like all-you-can-eat buffets, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

I shook hands with 57-year-old Min-Bok Lee (seen here in green jacket), a native of Hwanghaebuk Province in North Korea. As we ate and drank, Mr. Yoon, Mr. Lee and I had a three-way conversation, Mr. Yoon serving as the interpreter. Also at the table were Kwang-Koo Lee—Mr. Yoon’s assistant in the NGO known as Badkiller—and two young men who serve as Mr. Lee’s bodyguards. Such protection is necessary because he has been active in opposing the government, if it may be so called, of his former home.

In 1995, Mr. Lee crossed the Amnok River into China. He lived there for three years before being apprehended and sent back to a terrible fate. Of course, everything is relative in North Korea. He was beaten, tortured and imprisoned for a while, but somehow got released. Maybe the authorities believed his story about having gone to China just to learn modern agricultural techniques, which he fully intended to bring back to the socialist paradise run by and for the “Dear Leader.” (I do not know what honorific has been given to Kim Jong-Eun, and who cares? His regime is bogus.) As soon as another opportunity presented itself, Mr. Lee headed north again. He was successful, and has been living in South Korea (Pocheon, specifically) for the past decade or so.

His departure was not without consequences, of course. His sister and mother were arrested and sent to prison, where they remain to this day. Again, the issue of relativity comes up. They live in a “restricted area” in which they are able to stay alive, and that is the name of the game for most North Koreans—enduring and surviving.

Although I did not mean to be impertinent, I asked Mr. Lee many questions during our meal. One was whether there were any all-you-can-eat lunch buffets up in North Korea. He merely smiled and replied that if there were, they would soon go out of business due to the customers filling their bellies with food. What had it been like during the times of famine? He had seen people eating bark off trees and worse: cannibalism. While a citizen of the DPRK, did he really believe those improbable tales, like Kim Il-Sung being able to control the weather and Kim Jong-Il making five holes-in-one every time he played a round of golf? In fact, he did. The state is that adept at controlling information and force-feeding lies to the people. However, Mr. Lee began to doubt one day when he found a leaflet that had been sent into the country by means of balloons. It said that the ROK did not start the Korean War back on June 25, 1950; there is considerable prosperity south of the border; Americans are not devils but actually good friends; the money spent on those 35,000 statues of Kim Il-Sung could have been put to much better use; and so on.

That was when he realized he had to leave, whatever the cost. People from other countries “emigrate.” When we are referring to the DPRK, the correct term is “escape." Mr. Lee escaped and made it to South Korea. He experienced some culture shock, which is entirely natural. I look at him now and see a man who is in pretty good shape. He seems neither mentally nor physically damaged by having lived for more than four decades north of the 38th parallel.

Mr. Lee is a big believer in the power of sending leaflet-laden balloons up over North Korea. Obviously, the authorities disapprove and try to collect them before they fall into the hands of their targets—average citizens. His own eyes were opened by just this method. He and some colleagues go to the border twice a week and launch a series of balloons. I told him I support his efforts and am convinced that this is valuable work. When informed that he accepts contributions, I gave him 30,000 won and said Godspeed.