Marching Through Suffering : Loss and Survival in North Korea

267 Pages·2015·0.9 MB·English

by  Fahy, Sandra

SANDRA FAHY
MARCHING Through SUFFERING
LOSS AND SURVIVAL IN NORTH KOREA
MARCHING Through SUFFERING
CONTEMPORARY ASIA IN THE WORLD
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CONTEMPORARY ASIA IN THE WORLD
David C. Kang and Victor D. Cha , Editor s
This series aims to address a gap in the public policy and scholarly discussion of Asia. It
seeks to promote books and studies that are on the cutting edge of their respective dis-
ciplines or in the promotion of multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary research but that
are also accessible to a wider readership. The editors seek to showcase the best schol-
arly and public policy arguments on Asia from any fi eld, including politics, history, eco-
nomics, and cultural studies.
Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia , Victor D. Cha, 2008
The Power of the Internet in China : Citizen Activism Online , Guobin Yang, 2009
China and India : Prospects for Peace , Jonathan Holslag, 2010
India , Pakistan , and the Bomb: Debating Nuclear Stability in South Asia ,
Šumit Ganguly and S. Paul Kapur, 2010
Living with the Dragon: How the American Public Views the Rise of China ,
Benjamin I. Page and Tao Xie, 2010
East Asia Before the West: Five Centuries of Trade and Tribute, David C. Kang, 2010
Harmony and War: Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics, Yuan-kang Wang, 2011
Strong Society, Smart State: The Rise of Public Opinion in China ’ s Japan Policy , James Reilly, 2012
Asia ’ s Space Race: National Motivations, Regional Rivalries, and International Risks ,
James Clay Moltz, 2012
Never Forget National Humiliation: Historical Memory in Chinese Politics and Foreign Relations ,
Zheng Wang, 2012
Green Innovation in China: China ’ s Wind Power Industry and the Global Transition to a Low-Carbon
Economy , Joanna I. Lewis, 2013
The Great Kanto Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction in Japan ,
J. Charles Schencking, 2013
Security and Profi t in China’s Energy Policy: Hedging Against Risk , Øystein Tunsjø, 2013
Return of the Dragon: Rising China and Regional Security, Denny Roy, 2013
Contemporary Japanese Politics: Institutional Changes and Power Shifts, Tomohito Shinoda, 2013
Contentious Activism and Inter-Korean Relations , Danielle L. Chubb, 2014
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SANDRA FAHY

MARCHING Through SUFFERING

LOSS AND SURVIVAL IN NORTH KOREA
C
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK
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This book was published with the assistance of
Sophia University Support Program for Academic Book Publication.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2015 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fahy, Sandra.
Marching through suffering : loss and survival in North Korea / Sandra Fahy.
pages cm. — (Contemporary Asia in the world)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-17134-2 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-231-53894-7 (electronic)
1. Refugees—Korea (North)—Biography. 2. Refugees—Korea (North)—
Attitudes. 3. Victims of famine—Korea (North) 4. Famines—
Korea (North) 5. Human rights—Korea (North) 6. Korea
(North)—Social conditions. I. Title.
HV640.5.K67.F35 2015
951.93050922—dc23
2014020106
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Jacket Image: © Seung Woo Back, Blow up #042, 2006
Jacket Design: Chang Jae Lee
References to Internet websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have
expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.

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To the North Koreans who shared their stories with me,
to those who may in the future,
and to those who never will.
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CONTENTS
Note on Translation, Confi dentiality, Terms, and Romanization—ix
Acknowledgments — xi
Introduction: Loss and Survival—1
1. The Busy Years—20
2. C ohesion and Disintegration— 51
3. The Life of Words—84
4. Life Leaves Death Behind—108
5. Breaking Points—126
6. The New Division—148
Conclusion: Is Past Prologue?—169
Appendix: A Short History of the North Korean Famine— 183
Notes— 203
Bibliography —227
Index—239
vii
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NOTE ON TRANSLATION,
CONFIDENTIALITY, TERMS, AND
ROMANIZATION
Translations of Korean language texts and the transcribed oral accounts
are mine except where indicated. The name, age, and hometown of
interviewees are altered slightly and pseudonyms used to adhere to
requests for confi dentiality. Throughout the text the transcriptions of
oral accounts are followed by pseudonyms and the age of the speaker
at the time of recording. Familiar names and places appear as they
are conventionally written in English (for instance, “Seoul,” “Pyong-
yang,” and Kim Jong-Il); otherwise the McCune-Reischauer System
of Romanization has been used. “North Korea” and “the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea” (or DPRK) are used throughout, and
no political implication is intended with either. Former North Ko-
reans in Seoul and Tokyo variously use the terms Chosun , b uk-Chosun ,
or buk-han to refer to their home country—each containing a political
tone. Those terms are not used except where they appear in the oral
accounts. The word “defector” is used, but I prefer “North Korean”
or “former North Korean” to avoid overt dissident associations, par-
ticularly strong in the Korean word t ’ alpukcha (one who escaped the
North). In contemporary South Korean scholarship and government
documents the term s aeteomin , meaning “new settler,” is increasingly
used. I tend to avoid the anthropological word “informant” because
in relation to North Korea this word takes on an unfortunate hue; in
such cases I opt for the more neutral “interviewee.”
ix
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