Kang Eun Jung(Youtuber) North korean human rights activist
It’s been more than a decade since I left North Korea. I hated North Korea more than I missed it, since it left me with more sorrowful and painful wounds than good memories. Now, in South Korea, where I can regain the value of life and fulfill my dreams, the wounds I received in North Korea are healing one by one, but the more I live my life freely, the more my heart aches for my compatriots who are still struggling on that gloomy North Korean soil.
After heavy rains last month, the Yalu River in North Korea overflowed, causing flooding in some areas. In Sinuiju-si, more than 4,100 houses, public buildings, roads, railroads, and farmland etc. were reportedly submerged. The Yanggang-do, where I used to live, was also flooded, which made me feel the pain even more. I would like to take a look at the irresponsibility of the North Korean regime, which repeatedly suffers more damage than any other country during the monsoon season.
First, since North Korea is largely without any kind of gas system except for a few high-ranking households, North Koreans have to rely on coal or wood for fuel, which the North Korean authorities export in large quantities to China for reasons such as party funding and foreign currency earnings.
As a result, the mountains near the residences have become bare because all the trees have disappeared, so whenever the rainy season comes, landslides and floods occur, which causes great damage to the residents and them to cry out in frustration.
North Korea’s damage caused by the torrential rain is also the result of a poor disaster response system. Jong-un Kim’s regime is frantically building weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons and missiles etc., and if the money to develop them had been used to prevent flood damage, the damage would not have been so severe. North Korean regime emphasizes the efforts of the North Korean people while controlling them through a closed dictatorship, without taking any fundamental measures. North Korea should realize clearly that the day is coming when the resentment of its people will sweep the regime away.
The international organization has responded to the flood damage in North Korea with an offering of aid. On August 1, the South Korean government offered to send aid to North Koreans affected by the flooding through the Korean Red Cross. Jong-un Kim, however, accused South Korea of exaggerating the flood damage and said the “enemy is an unchangeable enemy.”
Jong-un Kim continues to focus on showmanship, even as the damage to his people is severe and flood recovery is urgent. He declines the South Korean government’s offer of help, saying he loves the people, and focuses on blaming rather than restoring the damage.
In the meantime, the suffering and damage to North Koreans will only increase, and trust in Jong-un Kim’s regime and the North Korean authorities will plummet. The Jong-un Kim’s regime should no longer focus on blame-shifting and the arms race that squeezes the lifeblood out of the people, but should instead focus on investing funds to improve the lives of the people.
