20 October 2026
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Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea
About
Meaningful communication begins by trusting North Korean defectors' stories and respecting experiences shaped by life under a different system.
Seohyun Lee
The author is the co-director of the documentary "Sotongil," a 50-minute film in which two young Koreans who set out to find an answer to communicate better with North Koreans.
While making my documentary on communication between South and North Korea, "Sotongil" — "Communification" in English (translated) — I met with several nongovernmental organization practitioners and North Korean defectors to ask what the first step is toward communicating with North Koreans.
Surprisingly, they all shared the same idea: First, we need to see North Korean defectors "as they are", meaning listening to them rather than speaking for them. How do we take this question and transform it into ethical practice? Firstly, seeing North Korean defectors as they are means trusting their stories.
Since North Korean residents must obtain an official permit from the government to travel outside the boundaries of their local city or county, ordinary North Koreans have very limited freedom of movement within their own country. Due to the same restriction, North Koreans' ways of life can also be different depending on whether they were born near the border, on the coast, or inland.
Considering this constraint on mobility, defectors could have very different stories from one another, and sometimes the stories even seem to contradict each other. Like the story of the seven blind men touching an elephant, each person may be describing the elephant differently, but each is still telling the truth about the part they experienced themselves. Hence, a primary mindset for engaging in a conversation with North Korean defectors is to trust that they speak truthfully.
The second thing to do after listening to North Korean defectors' stories is to respect their experience and perspectives without necessarily agreeing with their beliefs. Different politics, education, and cultures do shape people's lives and values entirely differently. Although you are against the North Korean regime, admit that in different settings, people cultivate different ways of making decisions. Admit that the idea of normal varies depending on your surroundings. And if you can, try to accept and respect their perspectives, recognizing that many of the differences you see stem from their surroundings and life experiences, not their inherent character.
To be sure, communicating with North Korean defectors and communicating with North Korea are two different endeavors. I'm not suggesting that we should trust and accept what North Korea says or what North Koreans believe. Given that two South Korean soldiers were injured at the demilitarized zone by North Korean mines on September 21, the answer to why and how we could communicate with North Korea seems extremely difficult to find. I'm specifically talking about communicating with North Korean defectors and how we can give a fair chance to the people who lived in a country that we are told to innately distrust.
This requires that we understand that people are not their nations, and that we should not hold individual citizens accountable for the actions of their governments. Trust North Korean defectors' stories and accept them, just as we listen to the stories of others and communicate with them respectfully. When we are able to see North Korean defectors as they are, perhaps we can begin to find a clue about how communication between North and South Korea can start.
Seohyun Lee
The author is the co-director of the documentary "Sotongil," a 50-minute film in which two young Koreans who set out to find an answer to communicate better with North Koreans.
While making my documentary on communication between South and North Korea, "Sotongil" — "Communification" in English (translated) — I met with several nongovernmental organization practitioners and North Korean defectors to ask what the first step is toward communicating with North Koreans.
Surprisingly, they all shared the same idea: First, we need to see North Korean defectors "as they are", meaning listening to them rather than speaking for them. How do we take this question and transform it into ethical practice? Firstly, seeing North Korean defectors as they are means trusting their stories.
Since North Korean residents must obtain an official permit from the government to travel outside the boundaries of their local city or county, ordinary North Koreans have very limited freedom of movement within their own country. Due to the same restriction, North Koreans' ways of life can also be different depending on whether they were born near the border, on the coast, or inland.
Considering this constraint on mobility, defectors could have very different stories from one another, and sometimes the stories even seem to contradict each other. Like the story of the seven blind men touching an elephant, each person may be describing the elephant differently, but each is still telling the truth about the part they experienced themselves. Hence, a primary mindset for engaging in a conversation with North Korean defectors is to trust that they speak truthfully.
The second thing to do after listening to North Korean defectors' stories is to respect their experience and perspectives without necessarily agreeing with their beliefs. Different politics, education, and cultures do shape people's lives and values entirely differently. Although you are against the North Korean regime, admit that in different settings, people cultivate different ways of making decisions. Admit that the idea of normal varies depending on your surroundings. And if you can, try to accept and respect their perspectives, recognizing that many of the differences you see stem from their surroundings and life experiences, not their inherent character.
To be sure, communicating with North Korean defectors and communicating with North Korea are two different endeavors. I'm not suggesting that we should trust and accept what North Korea says or what North Koreans believe. Given that two South Korean soldiers were injured at the demilitarized zone by North Korean mines on September 21, the answer to why and how we could communicate with North Korea seems extremely difficult to find. I'm specifically talking about communicating with North Korean defectors and how we can give a fair chance to the people who lived in a country that we are told to innately distrust.
This requires that we understand that people are not their nations, and that we should not hold individual citizens accountable for the actions of their governments. Trust North Korean defectors' stories and accept them, just as we listen to the stories of others and communicate with them respectfully. When we are able to see North Korean defectors as they are, perhaps we can begin to find a clue about how communication between North and South Korea can start.