Defending the Freedom I Sacrificed Everything For

Kim Geum-hyok

Policy Advisor to the Minister at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs

I'm a North Korean defector. When we hear the term 'North Korean defector,' it encompasses more than just individuals who escaped North Korea; it signifies those who risked their lives for the sake of freedom. I willingly left behind everything I had, including a high-ranking life, to embark on a journey to South Korea, where I now reside as a citizen.

What exactly is freedom?

For contemporary South Koreans, freedom is a given, a right from birth. It's as essential as the air we breathe. However, for North Korean defectors like me, freedom paints a starkly different picture – an arduous battle that requires risking everything for something that was once unimaginable. Regardless of whether one hails from Hamgyeong Province or Pyongyang City, irrespective of regional and social status, all North Koreans yearning for freedom find themselves in direct opposition to the North Korean regime.

To North Koreans, freedom resembles a perilous game of chance with a steep price tag. Escaping North Korea came at the cost of leaving behind my loved ones, abandoning a promising career, and severing ties with my parents forever. My family paid the price for my actions, and for over a decade, I have had no information about their fate. This is the toll I paid for freedom. Yet, this newfound freedom granted me the opportunity to pursue my education. Books that I once read in secret, hiding from surveillance, can now be openly accessed in university libraries and bookstores. I've traveled across the globe, visiting over ten countries, including the USA, UK, and Germany – a dream I could only have dreamed of. Through sheer merit, without any family influence, I was appointed as the youngest Policy Advisor to the Minister at the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs at the age of 31. I also became the youngest member of the Unification Future Planning Committee at the Ministry of Unification, dedicated to shaping South Korea's long-term unification policies. Freedom allowed me to meet my loving wife, raise a son who resembles me, and establish a new family. Freedom bestowed upon me the world, the platform to showcase my abilities, and a new sense of belonging. This, to me, is the essence of freedom.

Therefore, today, I'd like to delve deeper into the subject of our freedom.

When was the last time you engaged in a meaningful discussion about freedom? In a world where various issues and political disputes capture our attention only to disappear, leaving behind their volatile remnants, the concept of freedom is gradually fading into the background, relegated to an outdated ideological debate that no longer commands our collective attention. As freedom's significance wanes, its void is filled by anti-freedom actions such as false propaganda and fake news, posing a direct threat to the fundamental principles of liberal democracy. Some are undermining the very foundation of our hard-won democracy for their own political gain. The casualties of this 'take it or leave it' approach to fake news are the people themselves, causing us to sink into a swamp of skepticism where trusting any information becomes increasingly challenging.

Our freedom is at stake.

I carry a deep sense of responsibility to protect the freedom I exchanged everything for. This conviction is rooted in the belief that I am the sole guardian of my own freedom, and the freedom of our community can only be preserved by our collective efforts. My acceptance of a talent recruitment offer from the People Power Party before the 22nd general election was driven by an urgent need to ensure the preservation of our freedom. I firmly believe that liberal democracy is an integral part of South Korea's identity, shaping the lives of its citizens and safeguarding our collective future. However, we must recognize that liberal democracy cannot be taken for granted. It requires all of us to act with a sense of urgency and determination, knowing that our freedom is at stake. The future of liberal democracy lies squarely in our hands. There is no room for error, no retreat, and certainly no room for complacency.