Yoo Sang-joon is a

North Korean defector Since the division of Korea after the end of World War II, North Koreans have fled from the country in spite of legal punishment for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. Such North Koreans are re ...

with

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n citizenship. He is sometimes known under his pseudonym Nam Hong-chul, which he used to maintain his anonymity while in

northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of t ...

working to help fellow defectors reach South Korea.

Biography

Yoo lived in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

with his wife and two sons. After the death of his wife and younger son due to the ongoing

North Korean famine The North Korean Famine (), also known as the Arduous March or the March of Suffering (), was a period of mass starvation together with a general economic crisis from 1994 to 1998 in North Korea. During this time there was an increase in defec ...

, during which they ate nothing but grass for months, he chose to leave the country in 1998 with his remaining son Yoo Chul-min. While in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, he worked at odd jobs in construction and manual labour; eventually, he grew weary of living in fear of arrest and deportation to North Korea by Chinese police, and gave up his son to the custody of a family of ethnic Koreans with Chinese citizenship, hoping to give him a better life. He then smuggled himself out of the country. After his arrival in South Korea, he worked for a manufacturing company. His initial attempts to locate his son Chul-min failed, as Chul-min had changed his name and date of birth on his documents. With the assistance of defector aid organisation

Durihana Durihana North Korea Mission (Korean: 북한선교 두리하나 ''Bughan-seongyo Dulihana'') is a defector aid Christian organization based in South Korea. The organization assists North Korean defectors escape from North Korea and China, often ...

, he was able to locate his son, and make arrangements for people smugglers to bring him out of China to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and from there to Korea. Yoo's son died of exhaustion during the journey through the desert. Yoo's grief led him to convert to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, and also to pledge to help smuggle fellow defectors out of China. He made it his first priority to help orphans travelling without their parents. In October 2007, he was arrested in a Chinese police operation aimed at dismantling the escape network, and threatened with repatriation to North Korea, despite his South Korean citizenship. He was released and deported to South Korea on 16 December.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoo, Sang-joon North Korean Christians North Korean defectors North Korean expatriates in China South Korean people of North Korean origin Converts to Christianity Living people Year of birth missing (living people)