C. Hope Flinchbaugh - Out of North Korea - A Korean Boy Tells His Rescue Story in Pictures

OUT OF NORTH KOREA

A Korean Boy Tells His Rescue Story in Pictures

with C. Hope Flinchbaugh and Jessica Austen

This book contains depictions of

graphic violence not suitable for children.

Honoring the Heroes in Our Family Tree

Out of North Korea

ISBN: 978-1-60066-274-4

LOC Control Number: 2010938629

Copyright 2011 by History Maker Publishing, LLC

All rights reserved. History Maker Publishing hereby grants media and government personnel permission to use the book cover and one of Gil Sus drawings (with accompanying caption) of your choice for fair use in critical articles or reviews. No other part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Printed in India

15 14 13 12 11 5 4 3 2 1

Lion artwork by Priscilla Williams. Used by permission.

www.living-water-productions.com

Cover Design by Pencil Tip Design.

This book contains the real-life experience of a child who was rescued miraculously out of North Korea. The names of the Chinese rescuer and the North Korean child she rescued are changed to protect them and their families from retaliation by Chinese and North Korean government authorities. This book contains depictions of graphic violence not suitable for children. If you would like to schedule a speaking engagement or interview or to order copies of this book or learn more about life inside North Korea, go to www.historymakerpublishing.com .

Dedication

To my parents and my older brother who are still in North Korea. I hope I will see you again one day. And to all the North Korean peoplebe safe. Do your best to survive until North Korea and South Korea are united into one Korea. Then we will experience ultimate freedom.

Gil Su

Books by C. Hope Flinchbaugh

Fiction

Ill Cross the River

Across the China Sky

Daughter of China

Nonfiction

Out of North Korea

Spiritually Parenting Your Preschooler

Contact Hope at

www.historymakerpublishing.com

Acknowledgments

The first time I called Jennifer Garrido and explained my vision for this book, she immediately volunteered to take my children two days a week so that I could write. Jennifer, for the many hours invested in teaching, field trips and especially for your endearing friendship, thank you. You are a treasured and trustworthy friend. Hope

To my amazing husband, Brandonyour sacrifices make my dreams possible. To Hope, for opening the door to pursue my passion to advocate for human rights and for guiding me in this adventure. I am forever grateful to you both. Jessica

To my mother, Betty Keenan, for teaching me the power of story and supporting me as freelance writer, author and now publisher. No one can tell a story like you, Mom! Hope

Of course, this story could not be told without Gil Su, Mrs. Sao and their translator (who wishes not to be named here). All three have given History Maker Publishing their full written permission to publish this story in English, and we are deeply honored by their trust.

Thank you to the North Korea Freedom Coalition for putting this story into our hands and for tirelessly giving aid to and raising awareness of the Underground Railroad out of North Korea.

Thank you to Cleo June Sippel for freely offering her expertise in copyediting. The best is yet to come!

Jee Won Jeong, thank you for joining us in the eleventh hour to translate for Gil Su just before publication. Because of you, we were able to document the last-minute, critical updates to his mothers case in the North Korean prison camp. Were not giving up!

A special thanks to Sujin Park and Eun-Hye Kim from PSALT NK (www.psaltnk.org) of Englewood Cliffs, NJ, who willingly volunteered their skills in translating some picture captions written by Gil Su.

I am indebted to my cheerleaders, huddle buddies and dearest friends, Deborah, Jennifer, Carol and Bets. Can you feel this mountain tremble? Hope

The Rescue

The following true story was told through a translator by Mrs. Sao, a Korean Chinese woman who lived in a city in China near the North Korea/China border. We have attempted to translate her story as closely as possible to her Korean words and expressions. Today Mrs. Sao (not her real name) lives in South Korea to evade capture and imprisonment by Chinese police for her crime of helping a Korean refugee boy and his family escape starvation in North Korea. Hiding North Koreans is considered a crime by the Chinese government and carries a heavy penalty. If caught, the North Korean refugee would be repatriated, and Mrs. Sao could be arrested, imprisoned and beaten. Mrs. Sao told her story

The dream was simple, but it changed my life forever. It was August 21, 1999. A boy whom I never saw before squeezed my neck and yelled, Please save me!

I saw his young, round face clearly. He looked to be about fourteen years old, and he cried out again, Please save me!

Boy, let go of my neck, I replied. I feel like Im being choked!

I will let go of your neck if you will save me, he said.

Yes, I will save you!

At that moment, the boy pulled his hands away, and I woke up. The clock said it was only three oclock in the morningit seemed so real, but it was just a dream.

I couldnt go back to sleep. The boys face was still clear and vivid even after I woke up. I lay in the darkness and wondered who he was and why hed asked me to save him. Maybe he lost his parents and could not find his way back home. I wondered, What does this dream mean? Who is this boy?

I lay awake for awhile, pondering the dream. At dawn I prepared breakfast for my sleeping children and husband and left a message on the counter:

Honey, I have something urgent. I have to go out now. Please have breakfast with the children without me.

Your wife

I wanted to know if my dream was real. I had a vague expectation that if I searched for this boy, I would find him. First, I went to the railroad station and searched for him from end to end. There was no one like him. I came out of the railroad station and walked on a wide, open road. In my head there was nothing but the face of this boy.

I said to myself, I must find this boy. I must find him, buy him food, and if he is lost, I must find him his way back home .

So I went to the airport, the bus terminal, the marketplace, anywhere I thought I could find him. I spent half the day looking for the boy, but there was nobody like him. This was ridiculous, really, because in a city of several hundred thousand people, how can you find a boy you never met but saw only in your dream? Suddenly I remembered the face of my frienda sixty-year-old grandmother. I had my grocery stand next to hers at the same place in the market for about ten years. She had a stand of her own and sold newspapers, cigarettes, and other items. Once in a while I would have a dream, and whenever I told her my dreams, she always interpreted back to me what those dreams meant. So I went to the market to find her.

What are you doing here? she asked. I heard you went to South Korea to make money. When did you come back?

She was very happy to see me, but I was on a mission to find the boy in my dream. I said, Well, Grandmom, lets talk about those things later. I have something urgent. I told her about my dream and the boy. In the end I asked her, Have you seen a boy like the one in my dream?

Grandmom answered, Wait a whilehe may show up here.

I sat next to her and watched the passersby very carefully, looking for the boy in my dream. Suddenly, a boy rode toward us on a bike. I realized immediately that the boy on the bicycle was the boy in my dream.