Interviews with North Korean Defectors

Lim Il is a regular contributor to Tong’il Shinmun (Unity News). He is himself a North Korean defector, having previously worked as a construction worker in Kuwait. He has authored multiple books in Korean.Adam Zulawnik is an Academy of Korean Studies Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Monash University, Australia. He was a founding member of the Korean Studies program at the University of Melbourne, Australia. His current research focuses on the translation of the Korean and Japanese languages in political and historical settings.

• Map 1. East Asia; Map 2. North Korea; Map 3. Central Pyongyang; Critical introduction from Adam Zulawnik; Source text introduction by Lim Il; Acknowledgements; Translation Teams; 1. Kim Shin-jo | Korean People’s Army soldier ∞ pastor; 2. Ahn Chan-il | Korean People’s Army soldier ∞ chairman of Sungy Dongji association; 3. Chon Chol-woo | Exchange student in Germany ∞ president of Gohyang FS; 4. Kang Chol-hwan | Yodok Prison Camp inmate ∞ chairman of the North Korea Strategy Center; 5. Im Young-sun | Korean People’s Army soldier ∞ chairman of the Committee for the Nine Northern Korean Provinces; Special column: South Korean defectors and North Korean defector-residents; 6. Kim Tae-bom | North Korean logger in Russia ∞ director of the Peace Unith Korea Defectore Alliance; 7. Kang Myung-do | Premier Kang Sung-san’s son-in-law ∞ university professor; 8. Cho Myung-chul | Teacher at Kim Il-Sung university ∞ member of the 19th National Assembly (2012), politician; 9. Ahn Myeong-cheol | Security guard in the Korean People's Army ∞ president of NK Watch; 10. Jeong Seong-san | Korean People's Army soldier ∞ musical director; Special column: North Korean defector-residents and naming problems; 11. Rhee Min-bok | Agricultural researcher ∞ leader of anti-North Korean balloon propaganda program; 12. Han Yong-su | Korean People's Army soldier ∞ first North Korean metro train operator; 13. Jeong Nam | Railway worker ∞ president of Glov Co., Ltd. (sunflower oil producer); 14. Shim Ju-il | Korean People's Army soldier ∞ head of North Korean Soldiers of Christ Association; 15. Kim Seong-min | Korean People's Army soldier ∞ founder and president of Free North Korea Radio; Special column: Arrival support and benefits; 16. Park Sang-hak | trader ∞ chairperson of Fighters for a Free North Korea; 17. Hong Sun-kyung | North Korean envoy to Thailand ∞ North Korea expert; 18. Joo Myung-shin | University teacher ∞ chairperson of North Korean Defector Artists’ Association; 19. Park Kwang-il | Middle school teacher ∞ chair of Youth Forum of North Korea Democratization; 20. Song Byeok | Jik’gwan seondong (propaganda) operative ∞ artist; Special column: Displaced persons and North Korean defector-residents; 21. Kim Tae-san | President of Joseon-Czech joint footwear venture ∞ North Korea expert; 22. Joo Seung-hyun | Korean People's Army soldier ∞ university professor; 23. Kim Heung-kwang | University teacher ∞ director of the North Korean Intellectuals Solidarity; 24. Jeon Ju-myeong | Youth worker ∞ president of Unity Preparations North Korean Defectors’ Association; 25. Park Seong-jin | University student ∞ Sohaegeum musician; Special column: North Korean defector-residents and South Korean politics; 26. Park Myung-ho | Party loyalist ∞ first North Korean defector-resident diver; 27. Ji Seong-ho | Disabled youth ∞ president of NAUH; 28. Lee Ung-gil | University student ∞ president of Saeteomin Lounge; 29. Jang Se-yul | University teacher ∞ president of Gyeore’eol Unification Solidarity; 30. Choi Hyeon-jun | Protection agent ∞ president of Unification Future Solidarity; Special column: Other notable North Korean defector-residents; 31. Kim In-chul | Trader ∞ president of Jiwon Publishing; 32. Im Kang-jin | Korean People's Army soldier ∞ private business owner; 33. Thae Yong-ho | North Korean minister in the UK ∞ North Korea expert; Afterword from the author; 34. Exclusive interview with author Lim Il | Construction worker in Kuwait ∞ writer; Select bibliography

"Dr. Adam Zulawnik has given us a true masterpiece through his collaboration with Lim Il on Interviews with North Korean Defectors. It holds nothing back in understanding the pain and suffering, joy and desires of those who have escaped from one of the world’s worst regimes. It is raw, honest, and candid. Nothing out there compares. The work will make you laugh, make you cry, but most of all, inspire you as a powerful testament to the human spirit. This book is your hard evidence that despite the brutal tyranny of the triple Kim dictatorships, the spirit of the Korean people, their love of family and their homeland could never be crushed. It is extremely timely as we see so much growing discontent among the North Korea people that so desire change especially as they learn more and more about South Korea’s thriving prosperity. This book introduces us to the very actors in the defector community who are working for the peaceful liberation of their homeland – most of whom plan to return to rebuild and invest so that prosperity and hope can return."---Ms. Suzanne Scholte, Seoul Peace Prize Laureate; President, Defense Forum Foundation; Chair, North Korea Freedom Coalition; Chair, Free North Korea Radio"Through these personal interviews, which are deeply intimate and tear-jerking true stories, the reader obtains a human-faced and close-up portrait of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), its society, and the people’s sentiments. The jigsaw puzzle pieces of North Koreans’ faces come together as mosaics in a greater authentic portrait story and faithful imprints of reality."---Dr Gabor Sebo, Lecturer, Yonsei University "This book is different, in that there is minimal interpretation. The interviewed speak for themselves, so that the reader can see ‘an accurate reflection of North Korean language’, to quote Adam Zulwanik’s introduction."---Dr James Hoare, author of Historical Dictionary of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2012).