Every week we ask a North Korean your questions, giving you the chance to learn more about the country we know so little about. This week, however, we introduce you to our latest contributor, Jinhyok Park.

Hello readers,

My name is Jinhyok, and I am a North Korean defector living in Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. I used to live in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. I have just joined the Ask a North Korean column writers in the hopes that sharing my capital-to-capital living experience would give you a more comprehensive understanding of life in my homeland and the United States.

I was born in a middle-class family in North Korea. My father worked at a merchandise distribution center and my mother worked in public health. My parents’ occupations were relatively comfortable and well-rewarded (not by the government, but their clients, as a form of bribery), and thanks to them, I was able to grow up without any big worries throughout my childhood and adolescence.

After graduating from high school at age 16, I went to a college now named after North Korean founder Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang and studied biology there because my parents wanted me to be a doctor. Even though I was not really passionate about being a doctor and studies in school were boring most of the time, I was too young to rebel against my parents. Besides, I was a rather obedient boy by nature.

I was surprised at how many other students could select courses freely, choosing clothes without restraint and saying anything they felt

However, I never stopped thinking about my future. Like most college students, I knew that I had few chances or no chance to change my life. Sometimes I hypnotized myself into believing that I would be a successful person in the country with “nothing to envy,” as my parents expected. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to study abroad as an exchange student for a time and it changed everything. I was surprised at how many other students could select courses freely, choosing clothes without restraint and saying anything they felt; none of this was allowed for me.

But what I envied most at that time was that they were all able to choose their futures according to their own interests. All other foreign students seemed to be very responsible in deciding what to study, where to work and how to live. Even though I’d spent 20 years studying Juche ideology in North Korea, which essential says that you are the master of your own life, I couldn’t decide all those things on my own and couldn’t even imagine doing so. I had been brainwashed by the regime since I was born that the government takes care of everything for me and only thing I have to do is to obey. After much consideration, finally I decided to leave my homeland in search of a new life because I believed there would be no hope, no future and no life in North Korea.

CAPITAL OUTFLOW

I came to the United States as a refugee in 2011. The first thing that I had to decide after coming to the United States was to identify who I am. I am not an ordinary North Korean because I left there not to be a North Korean. I am not a South Korean either, because I never been to South Korea. I am also quite different from those who immigrated from either South Korea or North Korea long ago. I tried to be a typical American speaking and acting like an American, but this also failed due to my poor English and due to cultural differences. It took me a long time to feel comfortable about living as a North Korean refugee with a different background in this cultural melting pot.

Next, I had to decide what to do. As mentioned above, I am not really interested in being a doctor and no one pushes me to become one here. I wanted to do something meaningful for the unification of the two Koreas because that is only way for me to see my family again. Eventually, I decided to become an economist contributing to the development of North Korea’s economy during the process of reunification with South Korea, so every individual can benefit from reunification while minimizing the conflicts and costs.

I wanted to do something meaningful for the unification of the two Koreas because that is only way for me to see my family again

In the United States I attend another college named after another national founding father – George Washington – expecting graduation next month with another bachelor’s degree. Now I live in the capital of a different country with my wife, whom I met in a refugee shelter during my defection. I had a citizenship interview few weeks ago and am now very close to becoming a U.S. citizen. The circumstances around me are quite different than before, yet there are many common characteristics.

Overall, American life is not as prosperous as I expected. I still study hard and work hard to survive and advance toward my goal. But I am happy because I, and no one else, am fully in charge of deciding everything in my future. At the same time, making a decision for my life is still not easy for me because in North Korea I used to be an object to be decided, not a subject making decisions.

This is my story, and I hope that the more people become aware of North Korea, the sooner unification comes. I would like to share stories of my life, educational experience and thoughts from both my home country and the United States, and would be happy to answer any questions regarding North Korea in this column, as long as it is not that person-specific.

I look forward to hearing from you!

The above is the perspective of the author, and may not be representative of all North Korean defectors.

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Artwork by Catherine Salkeld