Asia-Pacific
New monument overlooking DMZ honors those who fled North Korea — or died trying
By
Stars and Stripes August 16, 2024
Yoo Kyong Chang and Luis Garcia
Stars and Stripes August 16, 2024
A monument dedicated to North Korean defectors stands at the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
PAJU, South Korea — Oh Eun Jeong, a poet who fled North Korea in 2009, left behind a younger sister for whom she still longs.
Oh, profiled by The Washington Post in 2018 as one of many young North Korean defectors thriving with new lives in the South, said that longing motivated her to write poetry.
“I think about my sister every day,” she told Stars and Stripes by phone Aug. 8. “Knowing she’s still there while I’m here makes my heart heavy.”
Oh and other former North Koreans now have a place to bring those sentiments. On Aug. 1, the South Korean Ministry for Unification unveiled a monument to those who escaped the North or lost their lives in the attempt.
“This monument gives me a place to express that longing, even if I can’t be with her,” Oh said.
A remembrance plaque dedicated to North Korean defectors accompanies a memorial at the Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
More than 33,000 North Koreans have successfully reached the South since 1998, according to an Associated Press report in October. The number of those who perished in the attempt is hard to calculate.
The monument is in Paju and overlooks the Demilitarized Zone that divides the two countries, with a view beyond the DMZ into North Korea.
“The sculpture installed at the Odusan Unification Observatory symbolizes the longing and courage of North Korean defectors in their pursuit of freedom as well as their hope for the future, along with the memory of those who sacrificed their lives during the escape process,” Unification Minister Kim Yung Ho said during the unveiling ceremony, according to an Aug. 1 statement from the ministry.
Han Bonghee, a doctor of oriental medicine in Goyang City, defected from North Korea in 1998.
“This is more than just stone,” she told Stars and Stripes by phone Aug. 6, speaking of the new monument. “It’s a place where defectors like me can finally honor those we lost.”
Han has written a memoir that recounts her father’s forced repatriation and death in a North Korean prison.
“I see this as a sacred space where I can pay respects to my parents and others who couldn’t make it,” she said.
A view of North Korea from Odusan Unification Observatory in Paju, South Korea, on Aug. 14, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
North Hamgyong province Gov. Ji Seongho, a former member of the National Assembly, proposed the monument’s location.
“I think this monument could be the space that can be a source of strength for defectors,” Ji told Stars and Stripes by phone Aug. 8. “It could be a site where they can look at their hometown and get themselves sorted when times are tough and difficult.”
The monument stands where North Korea is visible, a poignant detail for those who left loved ones behind, he said.
Ji said he hopes the monument conveys the preciousness of freedom to South Koreans and reminds defectors to leave fully honoring those who couldn’t make it.
The number of North Korean defectors peaked at 2,914 in 2009, according to the Visual Capitalist website. That number slumped to fewer than 150 for all of 2021 and 2022. Last year, 99 people were recorded having escaped the North.
Oh said she can’t help but think of those she left behind, or whose bid for freedom failed.
“Whenever I hear about North Koreans who died trying to escape, I think how nice it would have been if they could have set foot on this land,” she said.
