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| Casey Lartigue Jr. |
I'm busy with other things, such as learning English, so I don't really think about Kim Jong-un. Even when I was in North Korea, I didn't really care about him. A wonderful thing about being in freedom is that I am free to ignore North Korea and Kim.
Having said that, I'm not happy with welcoming Kim Jung-un. He is an a―hole. My hope is that South Koreans will see that he is a jerk and a dictator who is ruining people's lives. My concern is that South Korean media will put on a show trying to make him look like a nice guy because they don't want to embarrass President Moon.
When I was in North Korea I read that North Korea's first dictator, Kim Il-sung, supported South Korean activists. Some of those people are now in positions of power, and some of them may still be supportive of North Korea. I heard that he gave diamonds and gold to some of them. I don't know if it is true, but that is the kind of thing North Koreans think about when they hear South Koreans defending North Korea's leaders.
I do fear that president Moon is naive, that he considers things from Kim Jung-un's perspective. Their thought process seems to be: "How can we arrange this trip for him so that people want to support reunification with Kim Jung-Un? How can we present him in a favorable light? And how can we stop people from protesting [against] Kim Jung-un?"
I get alarmed every time I see South Korea being willing a participant in North Korea's propaganda machine. When the New York Times released an article about denuclearization that made North Korea look like it was being deceitful, the Blue House tried to present North Korea's side. I said to my mother, "Where should we go if Kim Jung-un takes over South Korea? We can be in danger if Moon Jae-in makes a deal." North Korean refugees may start committing suicide.
James, male, escaped from North Korea in 2006, arrived in South Korea in 2007
If I think about it personally, then I am absolutely opposed to welcoming Kim Jong-un. I have so many bad experiences related to North Korea. I still don't know where my sister is; she failed in her attempt to escape to South Korea. So if I think about this from my own perspective, I can never welcome any leaders from North Korea who put North Koreans in such difficult situations.
Additionally, I do think it is a bit premature to welcome him. No knows when the right time is. We know that Kim Jung-un and other North Korean leaders have killed many people.
So those are my personal feelings about it. On the other hand, politicians must think about the broader nation. They have more information, and it is possible that more people can be saved by having better relations with North Korea.
For example, Otto Wambier couldn't be brought back until after there were closer contacts. Other things might not be possible, the overall situation might not be able to get better until after there are closer relations with North Korea.
Casey Lartigue Jr., co-founder with Eunkoo Lee of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center, is the 2017 winner of the "Social Contribution" Prize from the Hansarang Rural Cultural Foundation and the 2017 winner of the Global Award from Challenge Korea.
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