As soon as I stood at Incheon Airport, the air felt different. Seeing the airplane parked on the runway with the Taegeuk mark was completely mesmerizing, and I felt a surge of patriotism. There were so many cars, and they were all moving swiftly. It was the first time in my life that I had seen such a road, so I was also experiencing Korean food for the first time. The kimchi was red, and I had fried mackerel, which had no fishy smell at all. In North Korea, if someone says security officer, it can be very intimidating, and they can be quite aggressive. However, they still show respect and consideration for others. When North Korean women come to South Korea, they can't help but fall for South Korean men. 

We have Kim Ga-young with us today. Hello! Hello! This is our second time having you here, and everyone is...

As you know, we will look into issues related to North Korea, which many people are interested in. You have been running your own channel and have met many North Korean defectors, and you have personal experiences as well. When North Korean defectors arrive in South Korea, particularly at Incheon Airport, is there a memorable episode that stands out to you? 

Well, since it’s the first time experiencing this, what I remember is that when we boarded the plane, the floor was covered in red. In North Korea, places where important people come are always covered in red. So, I thought we had to take off our shoes before boarding. I also wondered if I should take off my shoes, but when I looked ahead, I saw that the Koreans were not taking off their shoes. So, I hesitated for a moment about my shoes.

I remember trying to take off my shoes like this, and this friend of mine, since it was his first victory, took off his shoes and held them in his hands while getting on. So, I was satisfied with that story, but then the aunt said, Oh, you don't have to take them off, please put them back on quickly, which made me very flustered and embarrassed. I had that episode in mind. Watching that, I thought that since it was their first time, they might experience such things. 

However, when it comes to flying at the airport, they serve drinks for free, right? But for North Korean defectors, there is no prior notice. They don't inform you that a meal will be served or provide any guidance. It would be nice to have a little information, but there’s nothing at all; they just tell you to get on. So when I sat down and they asked what meal I would like, I thought I had to pay, so I said, No, thank you, but I actually wanted to eat.

I really wanted to eat something. Yes, but since beer and wine are also served, I wanted to eat even more. The reason is that I've never had wine from Bucharest before. They say it's made from a grape called Băbească. I really wanted to try it, but I had to hold back for five hours while I was in Korea. Hearing about that made me feel a bit sad, and I thought it would be nice if the concerned parties could inform us in advance. I think that was my thought. Well, whether it's free or paid, you still have to pay, so they don't really tell you about it. In fact, they don't even inform you about meals, which is somewhat expected. If they had provided that information in advance, people would have enjoyed their time more while watching others eat.

I couldn't eat because I was swallowing, so I had a strong desire to eat as soon as I arrived in Korea. I made arrangements right away and went to the nearest country to have the in-flight meal. I remember that I refilled my beer three times while eating the in-flight meal. I think that story stands out the most. I had to relieve my pent-up feelings. But when I arrived in Korea and stood at Incheon Airport, the air felt so different. Perhaps many Koreans who have traveled abroad have felt that way, but for North Korean defectors, seeing an airport for the first time might make it hard to compare. The air felt distinctly different. When I saw the airplane with the Taegeuk mark, it was completely mesmerizing. I felt a sense of patriotism that made me wonder when I had ever felt this patriotic before. I felt proud and fulfilled.

I think there was something like that. When we went down, many people mentioned that when they crossed the Incheon Bridge, they felt a bit overwhelmed. Honestly, the Incheon Bridge is a part where almost no one goes up; there are hardly ten people. This is because there is only the West Sea Bridge in North Korea, which is very small. They are really promoting it a lot, but the Incheon Bridge is incredibly long. Looking at it, I feel that this reflects Korea's status. It was the first time I saw such a bridge, but what surprised me even more than the bridge was the Incheon Airport road, which has eight lanes. I was really amazed by that. There were so many cars, and they were just zooming by. It was truly the first time in my life that I experienced something like that.

Because I received a ride, I really felt that South Korea is such a well-developed country. How is the road situation in Pyongyang? In Pyongyang, there are some lanes, but they are mostly empty, and the roads are not as solid as ours. They are somewhat paved, but not very well. This is really just for show; it only exists in the media. There aren't long stretches of well-paved roads. So, while driving for about 20 minutes, I realized, Ah, this is South Korea. If you go to Pyongyang and experience unification, you will feel the difference in driving comfort. The paved roads definitely have some bumps. So, the feeling is slightly different, and the roads themselves are not long.

The road, yes, the highway is not really surrounded by much, so the feeling is quite different. The traffic lights, are they functioning well there? Well, the traffic lights are not working properly. I remember once while driving, the traffic light suddenly stopped, and when you're driving in South Korea, that can be really awkward. You wonder what will happen when it suddenly stops. However, in North Korea, the traffic lights are always broken. It's not that drivers stop at the red light; it's that the lights are often out due to frequent power outages. So, the lights themselves are usually off. Drivers have gotten used to this situation, so they navigate well together. They just yield to each other while driving, but this can also lead to accidents.

Have you ever seen the women in military uniforms directing traffic in North Korea? There are women who guide cars at intersections. In a way, there are traffic safety officers who help manage the flow of vehicles. The traffic situation is quite poor, and traffic lights do not cover everything well, which is why you see these traffic safety officers in areas where cars are densely packed. North Korea often tries to promote this as a positive aspect, claiming that they have something unique that other countries do not, especially since they face electricity shortages. They present it as a humanistic approach. As for public transportation, it is almost nonexistent, but there is some form of public transport available, and if it exists, we should use it.

It's important to note that while it can work, it cannot be used. This is because everything runs on electricity, and when the electricity is not available at times, it creates issues. For example, in the case of the subway, it gets so crowded that it's hard to get on. Unlike us, where trains come every five or three minutes, the intervals are much longer. As a result, commuters gather in large numbers, making it difficult to find a place to board. In the case of buses, the lines are extremely long, and since they can't operate properly, it becomes quite challenging to get on. Because of this, some people prefer to take a taxi instead, while others think about just running to their destination. In rural areas, public transportation is completely unusable because there are no services operating, so people can't board at all.

In some cases, I think I could walk 4 km, 10 km, or even 20 km. For me, the distance to school was 6 km, and I used to walk that every morning and evening. At that time, it was natural for me, but now I can barely walk 1 km. I think it's good for my health, though. It seems that North Korean residents might not be able to eat well, but they manage to survive somehow. It feels like they are getting healthier. People from that region often say that when they take the subway in South Korea, they realize this is truly a paradise on earth. They think, Wow, it's so easy to do this, and we never had the chance to do it before, and they criticize Kim Jong-un for that. What about trains? Have you seen Love's Attachment? I haven't seen it, but in Love's Attachment, Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin are in it.

Suddenly, we find ourselves standing somewhere, and it’s not even a station, but we are just stopped. Why is it that in North Korea, the trains are so unreliable? As a result, when the electricity suddenly goes out, we find ourselves stuck in a place that isn’t even a proper stop. Then, people naturally gather and light a fire, roasting potatoes and corn while waiting for the electricity to come back. Those who watched that drama might have wondered why they were behaving that way, but it’s just how things are. They simply wait by the fire, eating until the lights come back on. However, if there’s nothing to eat, they can’t eat at all. Because of this, in North Korea, a train journey that takes about four hours from Seoul to Busan for us can take several days for them, especially in the summer.

It takes about a week, yes, yes, about a week. In winter, there are times when you can get caught in the snow, so you can expect it to take around ten days. For me, when I went to Pyeongyang in the summer, it took about seven days, so I had to pack a lot of lunch boxes. In the summer, the train stops frequently, so I remember buying food along the way. I thought it would be the same in Korea, so I packed a lunch box and tried to go to Busan, but I ended up not even taking it out and ate in Busan instead. Well, if you take the KTX, it takes two hours, but the trains in North Korea are quite slow. If the electricity goes out, you have no choice but to walk. What surprised me when walking up hills in Korea was that there are no hills on the train tracks; everything is flat, right?

It's convenient, but there are hills in North Korea. So, when you go up, it feels like you're going up very slowly, especially for the seated passengers. There are still many areas that are not well developed, so you can feel that you're going up the hill. A lot of the infrastructure that was laid down during the Japanese occupation is still in use, and there hasn't been much development since then. You could say that they are really using things from the 70s and 80s. If you think about it, it's somewhat similar to riding a bicycle. There are stories about people suddenly jumping off a moving train, and when that happens, Koreans think about jumping off a train that's running at 50 to 70 kilometers per hour. It's certainly possible to jump off, and while you might get hurt, there isn't really a life-threatening risk. So, such cases do happen.

In North Korea, people with some money often travel by private car, while many residents rely on trains. As a result, soldiers also eat on the go. Once everything is over, it actually feels meaningless. So, I think that if unification happens, the first thing we might do is improve the train system, as the situation is quite difficult. Additionally, there are many episodes that North Korean defectors experience at the National Intelligence Service. One of the most memorable aspects is that when defectors go to the National Intelligence Service, they first encounter Korean food. Since we are of the same ethnicity, the food surprisingly suits our taste. Many people say that Korean food is not that different, but no, our traditional food really does match well. However, in North Korea, there is a lack of variety, and the pure taste of our food is hard to find.

When I tried it, I found that the seasoning was a bit lighter, but it was still the same. However, with kimchi, we eat it red, while in North Korea, they eat it white. They don't use much red pepper powder. Even though there was red pepper powder earlier, they don't make it as bright red as we do. So, they make kimchi that is almost like baek-kimchi, and even when they eat it red, it's not as intensely red as ours. When I see that, I think, Oh, kimchi is supposed to be red, and then I eat it. In my case, there was fried fish. I had fried mackerel, and it didn't have any fishy smell at all. I thought, How can mackerel not be fishy? I had assumed that North Koreans just grilled mackerel and ate it that way.

I was a bit surprised, and one thing I felt when I went to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) was that, in North Korea, the NIS is associated with the State Security Department. I had received training that if you go to the NIS, you would be taken to a basement in Namsan where you would be subjected to various interrogations and harsh treatments. Because of this, I had some doubts. North Korean defectors often wonder when they will be taken to that basement, and while they are thinking about it, they leave without ever going in. Then they think, Maybe I didn't go in because I have nothing to hide. There are cases like this. 

Additionally, since the place where defectors are is the NIS, there are many male teachers. However, Korean men are generally very romantic and caring, which is quite different from North Korea, where if someone is a security officer, they are perceived as very scary and often violent.

Even the National Intelligence Service members conduct investigations while being considerate and caring towards the other party. However, since this is the first time doing it, there have been misunderstandings, and there are episodes where people fall in love. There are many stories about liking someone. By any chance, are there any who got married there? Oh, have they all already married? Those who are worried, yes, even if they want to get married, they can't. In my case, the older gentlemen in the National Intelligence Service, well, they lack a bit of youth. I would like to meet some younger people. So, I asked, Aren't there any young people in the agency? I was told that there aren't many young people among those who conduct investigations. So, I have a memory of feeling disappointed about that. But when I came out, I found that most women felt the same way. Why is it that they are so romantic and considerate?

There are episodes where love can suddenly fade, and one can fall into unrequited love. In North Korea, expressing feelings of love between men and women is somewhat different. Even if they do express their feelings, it tends to be more rough. For example, in South Korea, if someone offers water, they might carefully hand it over, or they might support it with their hands. However, North Korean men do not do that. They might throw the water to you and say, Hey, drink this, or if they are a bit more familiar or of a higher status, they might just hand it over without any of the gentleness we are used to. This kind of behavior is ingrained in us, but in North Korea, it is not, which makes their approach even more direct.

I think it's cool. Yes, it's masculine. So, it's a bit like the style of older fathers. You could say it's that kind of style. That's why North Korean defectors can't help but fall for Korean men. Also, the way they confess is really shocking; they do it in a very dramatic way. I've seen them say things like, If you don't marry me, I'll die, and things like that. In a way, while I've been giving lectures at military bases, I've found it quite enjoyable to receive proposals. I incorporate Korean proposals into my lectures. When the soldiers come out to do it, I realize that they really value the other person and ask for their opinion first. But in North Korea, it's more like, I like you, and your feelings don't matter. I like you, which makes it more extreme.

In Korea, it's like, Do you want to live with me, or do you want to die? It's very aggressive, with people pushing and pulling, and even holding knives. But in Korea, there's this feeling of, I like you, please accept me. I realized that this is a significant difference. The lack of consideration for the other person in North Korea makes my own feelings seem more important. I think that's what I felt. So, I want to be born again in Korea.

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