Life Stories from North Korea
The bare room of an ageing house in the centre of Seoul: a young woman is shown in, one of a hundred thousand young women studying in the South Korean megacity. But this one has an unusual background: she has come here from North Korea. She sits down with a smile and begins describing her experiences in the north of this divided land. Soon the tears are pouring down her cheeks, and all through the interview her face is a rainbow of crying and laughter.The next day, a businessman enters the same room. He fled to South Korea just a few weeks ago. He talks stony-faced about his work as a military policeman in North Korea, and how he persecuted, abused and even shot people like the young student.
Many refugees come into the room to offer their anonymous testimony. They lead hidden lives in Seoul, and usually they are all alone with their experiences. These Life Stories from North Korea are personal perspectives on events in that closed-off country.