no.50 130619 Thank you for the reminder

Pink flowers in the garden

I have a heart for North Koreans. Probably because my grandpa is from the northern part of Korea. In his twenties, my grandpa left home to study in the region that's now part of South Korea. Soon after, the war broke out and he wasn't able to return home, ever again.

I came across a video on TED today by a North Korean refugee named Joseph Kim, who at the age of 16 escaped from North Korea to find hope in China. He saw his father die in front of him from starvation, and his mom disappeared while she went out to look for something to eat. His older sister left him, promising that she'd be back with some money and food from China. That was the last time he saw his sister. Joseph was 13 and he became an orphan. He had to survive on his own by begging and scavenging for food, as well as working in the coal mines for 16 hours per day without any protection. He said the hope to see his sister waking him up with food is what kept him alive, whenever he couldn't fall asleep from the hunger. Realizing that he can no longer live this way, he risked his life to cross the border to China. If he gets caught by the North Korean border control, he would be shot to death, and if seen by the Chinese authorities, he would be sent back to North Korea where severe punishment awaited him. He made a choice to risk his life for a hope rather than starving to death. Joseph successfully escaped from North Korea and found help from an underground shelter in China, where he was able to fly to the States as a refugee.

Living such a comfortable life, it's so easy to forget what I have. I didn't wake up this morning, worried that if I don't find anything to eat, I might not see tomorrow. I didn't have to dig through a garbage can after garbage can to find a piece of bread, if I'm lucky. As I was watching this video, I not only sympathized with Joseph but I was more angry at myself. I was mad at the fact that I have so much and I'm not doing anything. I know what it's like in North Korea, yet here I am 'enjoying life.' Those people are my family. But do I really think that? When I heard Joseph say that he "felt suffocated that he had so much food in America" I really felt disgusted with myself and all the people living so comfortably. What I mean by 'comfortable living' is having clothes to wear, food to eat and place to sleep. I felt so ashamed at the fact that I have so much to eat and have such a variety of options to choose from, yet I am complaining that it's not good enough. I was always asking for more and something better.

I'm thankful for not just what I have, but for this opportunity to watch this video. It definitely was a good reminder to not take what I have (especially food) for granted. It also gave me a conviction to pray for North Koreans and take an action to help them, more than ever. I've wanted to help the North Koreans but I wasn't sure what I could do. I feel I'm just saying this to make myself feel better. If I have the heart for North Koreans and I'm not doing anything, how can I say I want to help them? I feel like I'm such a liar today. But to be honest, how can I help the people in that country? We all know where the money goes to when we send money or gifts to North Korea. When I went to hear Sean Ro from JinuSean speak earlier this month, I found out that he was supporting 500 orphans in North Korea. I'm not sure how he is doing that, but maybe it's something for me to find out.

It was really hard to watch the end of the video, when he was giving a short message to his sister and mother. I pray that Joseph's sister is still alive, and that they may be able to reunite sooner than later.