The Journey

In this episode of Voices from the Hidden Kingdom, I find myself in Seoul, South Korea, visiting the NKFI office there. My friend "Alex" stopped by, and we sat down to have a conversation about his physical, mental, and emotional journey from North Korea to traveling the world. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Voices from the Hidden Kingdom is a program dedicated to sharing North Korean refugee stories, facts about their homeland, and facilitate conversations around some of the most pressing issues that the people face today and into the future. New Korea Foundation International acts as an intermediary, advocate, and public-facing voice for those willing to share their knowledge and experiences with you, the listener. All names have been changed to protect all participants and their family members who may remain in North Korea. Our lives are formed and marked by various experiences, places, and people around us each and every day. They not only move us physically from place to place, but they also move our hearts and our minds in new and sometimes uncharted directions. And it is this movement that uniquely defines each of our life journeys. For some, the journey comes with far more obstacles and challenges than most people will ever experience over a lifetime. For others, the biggest journey of their lives is just about to begin. But for some, the pieces of the journey have been stolen away, presenting the biggest obstacle of all. Over the past several years, reports of increasingly fortified borders between North Korea and China have surfaced. In just the last two months alone, reports of repatriation agreements with Russia, as well as newly announced surveillance in China, intended to use North Korean refugees as informants against brokers and paths of journey are a brand new reality. And still, despite these threats, the North Korean people are still willing to try to achieve freedom and prosperity in their lifetime. While visiting Seoul this week, I was able to meet with my friend Alex. We were able to spend some time catching up on each other's lives and to talk more in depth about life in North Korea, his personal journey, and his hopes for his homeland. So this is an interview with Alex, a good friend of mine. And we're just going to talk a little bit about the past, the present, and the future around his journey. So Alex, what area of North Korea did you grow up in?

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Actually, I was one year the part part of the North in North Korea. Yeah. But uh actually I moved a lot of different cities in North Korea. So yeah, sometimes I've been the Bidrog, N North Korea. Yeah, or Hangung Bukto. It was uh Bidrough North Korea, but uh it's uh West Park.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

All right. Yeah, so you traveled kind of all over the place. So you've seen everything.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Which is that's a pretty unique experience considering that um we've talked before about how North Koreans can't freely travel everywhere. So that's a pretty unique experience.

SPEAKER_01 3:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:20

Um so in your traveling around North Korea, what what is your favorite place of all the places you'd been to?

SPEAKER_02 3:28

Yeah, I think the most uh uh my favorite place is uh it's uh one of uh one of uh uh most uh popular in popular mountain in North Korea. Yeah, so air conditioning is so good. Oh, the fresh air. Yeah, fresh air, a lot of tree, yeah. You can see a lot. Yeah, yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

All right, yeah. Very nice. Very nice.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

If I have a chance to live there, uh I work I will go there. Right.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

When when you're able to go back, is that the first place?

SPEAKER_02 4:03

Yeah, oh yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Nice. Um what would you say as you think about the past? What uh what was the most troubling issue in North Korea when you lived there that you remember?

SPEAKER_02 4:18

You know, the in North Korea the uh um the North Korea regime, they don't allow to move the other theory. Yeah. So uh if I uh if I move move out the other theory, I need the permission from the uh North Korea government. Yeah, if I don't have the permission, the past pass key, uh I cannot go anywhere.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Almost almost like visa, having to have visa, but yeah, but more complicated.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00 4:53

Um what was your understanding of the outside world before you left North Korea?

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Yeah, before I left m North Korea. I didn't uh I didn't know about the uh outside North Korea because in North Korea there's nothing information about the uh outside world. Yeah, so I couldn't hear anything. But one day I went to China to make some money. Uh so that was that that was first experience to um uh see other side uh outside. Yeah, so uh yeah, it was very surprised to me uh because uh uh the North uh the North Korea and China is are a very different country. Yeah. They're like economically the uh China is more higher than North Korea. Yeah. The first time I went to China mounting, uh yeah, I saw the plastic bottles. Yeah. But in North Korea, the po plastic bottles is very um expensive and it's very uh how can I how how can I say that? It's not uh it's there's not um not much there. Yeah, no, it's pretty rare. Yeah, it's pretty rare, yeah. So oh yeah, there's a lot of the new the plastic, or oh wow, I can grab it that I can reuse that, but uh the other people will say, yeah, there's the throw it. There's a lot, yeah. We don't we don't use the you don't use the you don't we don you don't reuse them. Oh yeah. Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Hmm. And you you had mentioned, I remember talking about this one other time that you had picked, was it wild strawberries?

SPEAKER_02 6:52

Yeah, white strawberry. Yeah. And white strawberry and like a blueberry, wild blueberry. Yeah, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:00

I bet they were delicious.

SPEAKER_02 7:01

Yeah. I saw that.

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Right. Um how how old were you, if you don't mind telling us when you did that the first time?

SPEAKER_02 7:09

Yeah. I think that it that was uh 14 years or 14.

SPEAKER_00 7:13

I can't even I think of my daughter and I can't imagine her like leaving to the state or even a different city alone at 14 years old. So unbelievable. Um do you think that the experience that you had paired with the challenges that North Koreans were experiencing do you think that that inspired you to eventually leave on your own? That knowing that the outside world was very different and maybe not as difficult.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

Yeah. But uh um when I went to Chi China, I I experienced the new world. Yeah, so I recognized, oh, what is the um um oh yeah. I I I had a lot of thinking about why I am living like this. Yeah. I met Chin Chinese people, yeah. They they are better than me. They give me some food and money. Yeah, but yeah, in my case, I I don't have any money. I am I was starving. Yeah, so why I am why why I thought I thought why I am uh starving. Yeah. I think I'm better than them. Yeah. Sure.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

I mean, right when you're when you're a teenager and I'm sure that I that seems to be a common question that most of the North Koreans I've met have asked is why am I living like this here? This doesn't seem right.

SPEAKER_02 8:47

Yeah. Uh because um when I was in North Korea, um uh I am I'm stopping now because uh I I'm still young and I'm not start uh I'm I'm not smart than the other people. But I went to China. Uh it the thing was freak freaking out. Yeah. So oh it's it's not my thought is uh it was uh uh it was correct it it was not correct. Yeah, I think the the uh basic the ribbon the statues uh the government have to provide for the their institution. But in North Korea they don't do this. Yeah, so yeah, it it is because it's the problem about the North Korea regime. Yeah, I I recognize at that time.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

Okay, all right. And so I think that you know one of the questions that I'd had was um so once you began to see the outside world, did it conflict with everything that you had learned, which is kind of what you're saying, is that once you saw the outside world, it was like, wait a minute, this is not what we were taught, this is not what we were told.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Hmm. That had to be difficult, I'm sure. I know um a young woman that we both know said that um it was very difficult for her the first six months, under you know, realizing that everything she'd been told was not true.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

Um, and feeling kind of not good about that. Um your journey was really long from the time you left to the time you were able to make entry into South Korea.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Um and people don't understand how complicated that process is. And we don't we don't need to talk about all of that today, uh, because you have other things to do today. But when you did arrive in South Korea, what surprised you the most?

SPEAKER_02 11:04

Yeah, actually there's a lot of things, yeah, because uh uh food and the food and the building, the modern building, modern city and the South Korea, the transportation is very good.

SPEAKER_04 11:23

Right?

SPEAKER_02 11:23

Yeah, it's so com comfortable and convenient. Yeah. It was uh everything was surprising for me. Yeah. I think it's the most part is the food. Yeah, nobody are nobody are starving in South Korea. Yeah. It's uh enough South Korea have have enough food. Sure. Yeah, it was very yes, surprising.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Yeah, which is the one of the things that I find when I visit visit Seoul specifically with South Korea is there are so many restaurants and so many signs and so much traffic and so many people, it feels overwhelming sometimes.

SPEAKER_03 12:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:04

But you're right, there's food everywhere. Yeah, you can get it everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 12:10

So I wouldn't say the Coca-Cola. Oh. Yeah. In North Korea, I I never uh I never have experienced the with the cook. Oh yeah, because in North Korea we don't have a coca-cola.

SPEAKER_00 12:24

Sure, sure. But you like it.

SPEAKER_02 12:26

Yeah, of course I love it.

SPEAKER_00 12:28

Oh, my mother would be very happy. She's a Coca-Cola family. I see. Um escaping North Korea, um there there's a report that says that when escaping North Korea, only about one in five individuals will make it to freedom in South Korea because again, that journey is so complicated and difficult. It's not just I'm gonna walk over the border or I'm gonna climb this fence. It's very complicated.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Um, you know, and there are fewer men than women that escape. Um what what was your experience around that? I know we've talked a little bit about you initially traveled alone, but you didn't travel entirely alone.

SPEAKER_02 13:14

Yeah. Actually, uh I came to South Korea around uh 18 years old. Yeah. Um before I I uh I escaped to South Korea. I uh worked in China um almost uh uh for four months. Yeah. In North Korea, uh I in China on the mountain, and there's some uh North Korean people who who who work there. Yeah, so I met some people, uh some of some of the Korean people in on the mountain uh to make money. Yeah, but one day was uh some people who work with me, uh they they were captured by the Chinese military. Yeah, and then I moved out moved to the other uh mountain and I met uh new people. Uh also the they are also they were also North Khan people. Yeah, when I came to South Korea uh South Korea, the um there is the 15 people who who work worked with me. Yeah. We uh but uh most people were captured too. Yeah, so only three of 15 people um escaped to uh South Korea, so South Poly. Yeah. Wow, three of 15. Yeah, including me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:49

Well, we're very fortunate that you're here. Yeah. I'm glad you're here.

SPEAKER_02 14:53

Yeah, it was super dangerous, yeah, journey. Uh because yeah, there we I I had to across uh a lot of river, I had to hike a lot of the mountain, yeah. So I met um Chinese military, Chinese police, yeah. I just ran away from the from yeah, from them. Yeah. It was so scary. I bet.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

I can't I cannot imagine. I a thought just crossed my mind that the first time we met, um, you saw me speaking to one of our other friends.

SPEAKER_01 15:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

But you came you came right to me and you said, hello, my name is Alex, and you were very friendly. And I think that's one of the things that I've I've heard throughout the the times we've spoken is that you like to meet people.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:49

And you are friendly and outgoing, and that's probably part of what got you as far as you've gotten, is you're smart and you're friendly. Thank you. Thank you so much. Um so you have truly traveled the world. You've been everywhere. Um where what are some of the places that you've gone to?

SPEAKER_02 16:13

Yeah. Actually, I love to travel around the world. So I I try to travel um the other countries. And so after I came to South Korea, yeah. I've been, uh been the USA and the European countries. The my most place is the Grand Canyon.

SPEAKER_00 16:38

Oh, that's your favorite place.

SPEAKER_02 16:39

Yeah, it's my favorite place. Oh wow. So oh. It's so beautiful. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:44

Yeah. No, it's it is, and it's I I haven't been there for a long time, but I love it it's so big it doesn't seem real.

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

But the layers of color that show the passage of time. And um it's always kind of like when I fly, I always see like the ground and think it looks like um like uh like a grandma. Like with the the with the with the wrinkly skin, but but wise.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

Yeah, or say it's so shoesy. Yeah. Yeah. Oh man. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

Yeah. So you are you you've done, I know you've been in school in the U.S. and have studied in other places, which is unbelievable. It's crazy. Oh, I'm so proud of you. Um in previous conversations, we've talked about you know your literal journey from North Korea to South Korea. Um, and as I reflect on that in kind of everything you've been through, one, you're my hero because I sometimes don't even want to excuse me. Sometimes I don't even want to leave my house because I'm too afraid of going down and trying to find the way to in my neighborhood. Yeah. So you're my hero. But um, you know, you travel with such confidence and joy.

SPEAKER_03 18:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:08

Um that, you know, what advice do you have for people around travel?

SPEAKER_03 18:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

But especially people like me who have some fears around travel. I see.

SPEAKER_02 18:20

Yeah. In my case, I um if I say I I I would say, yeah, you don't have to worry about that. Just go. Yeah. Go. And then you can meet new people and they're gonna help you. Also, you know, you you can experience new things. Yeah. It's gonna be it's encouraging. Uh encouraging, yeah, encouraging you.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

So if you have a lot of things, you cannot uh go anywhere. Yeah. So I say I would say, yeah, just go. Just go. Yeah. You don't need a plan.

SPEAKER_00 19:00

I think you said the other day, ah, no plans, just go. Yeah. Just go.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

Just do it.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Which which I took that advice yesterday. And I you conquered some fears and I kind of kept you in mind. And it was scary, but I did it.

SPEAKER_03 19:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

And it's and it's it's good. It's it kind of I think what I learned is that you learn that you can do difficult things. So like what you thought you couldn't do, now you can. So so travel and taking risk.

SPEAKER_01 19:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

It helps you to grow.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

Yeah. Yeah. Of course. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Nice. Uh now that you have experienced life outside of North Korea and you have really experienced life, um, you know, what what is your hope for the North Korean people?

SPEAKER_02 19:48

For the North Korean people? Yeah. Um as soon as we we can bring the Korean unification, uh, I I want to see Korean, the one one Korea. And then and then the North Korea people can also can receive their their basic human rights. Yeah. Yeah. In North Korea, they are starving, and then they cannot re uh re they cannot move with the other country, the other city. Yeah. Yeah. I think that is the big problem for the human. Yeah. North Korea is uh the North Korean people also uh same people um with with the other countries people, but they uh they cannot uh receive any freedom. Yeah, they cannot speak out for the North Korea regime. Yeah. They can yeah, like they also there is no re religion in Korea, in North Korea.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

Yeah. Yeah, so no choice.

SPEAKER_02 20:51

Yeah, there's no choice. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

It's difficult. Like you know, it's from from your job that you're wanting to have a job. You can't choose a job, to you can't choose a religious path.

SPEAKER_02 21:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

You can't choose to travel.

SPEAKER_02 21:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:10

They cannot make any money even there working for the for the Korean regime.

SPEAKER_00 21:17

Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Um what would you want? I think about this often, that there's so little information that comes out of North Korea, but there's also so little information that goes in. Um if you could if you could tell the North Korean people anything, yeah, now that you're out in the outside world, yeah, what would you want to tell them? What do you want North Koreans to know?

SPEAKER_02 21:45

Yeah, the outside is super deep different between uh uh between the North Korea. Yeah. So I would just say I want to say that I I want to tell. them about uh why oh do you know what is freedom uh what freedom is because in those korean people they cannot see uh they cannot think about then freedom we don't we don't use the freedom when i was in there i didn't know what is freedom uh what freedom is yeah so i'm gonna explain uh about the freedom yeah kind of what it really yeah what it means to you but what it means for them yeah you have to uh be a fighty uh about uh basic human rights and freedom yeah but you uh in North Korean people they cannot receive anything from the uh because because because of the North Korea regime.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Yeah um so you had said that you you look forward to the day of unif you reunification and one Korea. Um that's gonna be really difficult as we I mean it's not impossible. We've seen it happen in other parts of the world and we've talked about you know not in this podcast time but outside that it will be very difficult and will require the the entire world to really come together and and and help um with that in mind what advice would you give to North Korean people about reunification? North Korea people what was a Kishan Oh yeah no what advice would you give North Korean people about reunification? Because I know right now the governments are living as two separate, identifying as two separate and North Korea regime is saying there will never be one Korea. Yeah. We are independent and we you know juche, we live on our own, we can handle our own so what knowing that that is the message the people receive but they can't provide all of their own things. So reunification is important for the people, for the human rights, for the economy, for food, for you know joining families back together again.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

What advice would you give someone in North Korea about the importance of reunification, why it's good?

SPEAKER_02 24:36

Yeah I always say the North Korea the government for the two North Korea people so North Korean people they had they have to know the about the North North Korean government yeah so it um they just I I would say simply yeah the uh outside control we use the uh internet yeah we to like you to be SNS yeah but in North Korea they don't have that one so in North Korea uh people if I say a lot of things they cannot recognize anything because they don't have any information yeah so I I had to uh send the I have to send them the outside information and then oh that's why you we have to make the reunification. Yeah if you if you want to live better than battle life in North Korea we need to bring the reunification.

SPEAKER_00 25:56

Yeah yeah yeah no I think that's that's that's great advice um because I think that uh you know again if you're living in a situation where the leadership has lied and misled the people and it's it's hard to say oh yeah reunification would be great but um when they begin to understand that for education and uh fulfillment and human rights and food and you know all of the benefits um that it's important but it's important for them. Yeah of course yeah them first.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

Yeah I think the food is most important things.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

And then what what advice would you give to the rest of the world or world leaders about reunification?

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Yeah I think uh the Korean peninsula problem is not just uh our problem and I think that is the world problem yeah uh no the Korean peninsula is divided yeah uh because of the I think the word issue yeah it's it was it was not our wish. Yeah correct yeah so now North Korea they have the nuclear weapon uh they are flourishing around the world yeah so we have to serve the uh we the nuclei nuclear weapon yeah so um in in in Korean peninsula we are in we are still in worry yeah so we we have to uh solve this problem first yeah so I I won I want to ask them just to interest in North Korea. Yeah it it just uh it it just it was not just our problem.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

Yeah yeah yeah in in the my in the first podcast I spoke with one of our friends and I had mentioned that the world sees North Korea being imprisoned you know really like 1950, 1954, 1953 right in there when the division and the war had happened and but the reality is that North Korea has lived under oppression and occupation since like 1895, the Sino-Korean War uh Sino Sino-Japanese War when Japan took the Korean peninsula. And so North Korea has n has no one alive today that has ever known freedom which kind of blew my mind like you know uh Harmouni, you know, Abuchi would never know.

SPEAKER_03 28:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:53

Like they can't they may remember Japanese occupation but probably not probably only Korean War now.

SPEAKER_03 29:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

So you know it's a it's a it's a it's a serious issue. It's a big issue and the the division of the peninsula happened as a result of World War II with Russia taking the North, U.S. taking the South under the message of we need to drive out the Japanese, but there was no consultation of the Korean people at all.

SPEAKER_03 29:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:26

Like they didn't ask anybody. We said, oh we're just gonna slice it up which unfortunately has afflicted which unfortunately has affected families and people it's a it it's a an example of a single decision that has created a catastrophic event lasting generations. Yeah so yeah it's it's a complicated issue.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:55

Very complicated.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:58

In addition to what we've talked about here we had kind of briefly talked about the food situation in the North and I I have done like I said I I did some research and then I did the math and I looked at the numbers and I thought okay wait I know I went to art school but I'm not bad at math. This can't be right and when I looked at the math it indicated that North Korea only has 20 percent of their total land to farm and that the total production of of food is small. Yeah so all in all only one in five people will eat or everybody has to eat eighty percent less food. Yeah and I thought that that doesn't that doesn't seem possible especially excuse me especially with the concept of juce telling everybody that if we work hard and work together we can make it happen. Yeah but the math and the facts state that it cannot happen.

SPEAKER_01 31:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:17

And so they have to have outside help.

SPEAKER_01 31:20

Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

So does is there ever do you ever remember hearing about China providing food to North Korea? Like did they did people talk about it?

SPEAKER_03 31:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:32

Okay. So like people people were aware. Yeah and it's I mean food shortage is shocking.

SPEAKER_02 31:41

Yeah of course in North Korea the geo geologically is a real bit uh tricky the country. The North part they cannot uh make any the rice yeah just they pr uh they product the corn or and uh potato yeah but the n south part they can make it real bit uh they can raise real bit the rice like grand yeah but yeah so also um yeah Roskorea the rent is a real bit small than the other country yeah or so they just have the mountain yeah yeah you can't really plant on a steep slope at high altitude yeah also I think the most uh uh um one problem i i uh is the they they are isolated by themselves yes yes yeah so as I as I I as I all that all that said the North Korea people they cannot move out the other country yes so they cannot bring uh they cannot bring anything sure from the other country sure yeah so that is one of the problems in North Korea yeah I was thinking about that when we were talking that though the growing region is on the southwest side that there aren't really developed roads.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

Yeah and because people can't travel there's almost no way to get the food that is grown in the southwest to the northeast.

SPEAKER_01 33:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

So so it like when you start thinking about the situation and the distribution and how food moves you know here in the West we put it on a big grain truck and the truck goes to the they go to the grain elevator is what it's called. Yeah. And then they take it out and they put it on a train and then the train takes it to we have a very large distribution system.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

Right.

SPEAKER_00 33:57

And but as I saw yesterday I mean I saw this with my eyes at the DMZ that they there isn't paved road. This is this is a dirt road. The dirt is a beautiful color of of red kind of a red orange but it's hilly and it has like obstructions in the road so you can't you can't drive on it.

SPEAKER_02 34:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

So there's no way to get the food around.

SPEAKER_02 34:25

Right. The North Korea transportation is so terrible. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:30

Yeah except the city.

SPEAKER_02 34:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:32

Which is it sounds like in speaking the other day about this that people in the city receive the majority of the food. But to live in the city you have to be within the favored class the favorite group. Right. Otherwise you live everywhere else my goodness so much to think about so much to absorb.

SPEAKER_03 34:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:56

And I really appreciate your time and your willingness to talk to me always so nice. Yeah it's it's good to see you again.

SPEAKER_02 35:02

Yeah of course and thank you for inviting me and hopefully we'll talk again soon.

SPEAKER_00 35:08

Yeah of course all right thank you thank you bye Alex's journey truly details the perseverance and grit that the North Korean people have but also their humanity their compassion and the dreams they have for themselves and their countrymen and women while the details of his journey are specific and unique to him the overriding process and the theme remain constant for the North Korean people they are to seek freedom achieve prosperity and get basic human rights and to thrive versus just survive as they have for hundred years or more Alex is currently a student studying international relations and Korean law. As of today's recording he is seeking to further his education and he intends to study abroad in autumn of 2026 now a key piece of Alex's journey was inspired by increased awareness of the outside world though there's been an a new level of pressure and increased monitoring and surveillance as well as punishment for possessing and consuming foreign media the people still need to hear what's going on and you can pay a key and you can play a key role in and you can play a key role in making sure that they hear the truth about what the outside world is like via our new hope and you can play a key role in making sure that the North Korean people hear the truth about the outside world via our new hope broadcast you can give them the access to you can give them access to the Word of God through regular scripture reading and are able to send messages of hope these messages are intended to encourage and let them know that the world is not forgotten about them. To send your letter of hope to North Korean people simply email it to nkhb316 at gmail.com that's nkhb316 at gmail.com our staff will translate your letter and read it on air if you feel led to financially support our work the Hope broadcast or this podcast you can send your payments via Zell or PayPal the address is giving at new hope the address is giving at newcorefi.org the address is giving at newcorefi.org or you can send physical payments and letters to our U.S. based office at 4048 Lakeland Avenue number 22101 Minneapolis Minnesota 55422 USA if you've enjoyed today's podcast I encourage you to like and subscribe so you can hear all future podcasts and if it's not too much to ask share it with your family and friends as well we can't continue to grow and gather these stories and share them without the support of people like you from the Hidden Kingdom was brought to you by New Korea Foundation International a US based five O one C three advocating for North Korean refugees, their nation and their families Thank you for listening