※Translated with Notion AI. (Plus version)
Last fall, I talked about how my consulting firm in Seoul had tentatively accepted a “defector” from North Korea.
“A ‘defector’ from North Korea became my colleague”
His employment period ended successfully at the end of last year, and he was officially hired as a full-time employee from January 1, 2024. We have developed a quite open relationship over half a year.
Perhaps because I am Japanese, he started to tell me deep stories.
Maybe because there are no barriers between the North and South.
Even after meeting him, major conflicts continue around the world.
It’s surprising to think that people can act so cruelly for their own self-interest.
Thanks to our ancestors, Japan is able to live in one of the most peaceful, safe, and prosperous countries in the world, without being involved in war. I have only words of gratitude.
However, a German friend (working for the UN) from my graduate school days in the US said in a Zoom call the other day, “There is an ongoing state of emergency and tension is rising in Asia.
” You can’t deny that possibility.
Aside from dictators, no one wants war. However, even I, who have proposed to a Korean woman, have been blessed with three children, and have been living with my wife’s parents in Seoul for already 21 years, feel uneasy that the Korean Peninsula is still in a quasi-war state.
The Korean War is still technically in a “ceasefire” state under international law.
I have recorded half a year of dialogue with my colleague, Mr. Kwen (pseudonym). I want to share stories that cannot be known in daily Japanese news.
By doing so, I hope to help people understand more deeply about the tension on the Korean peninsula and the reality of North Korea, and to feel the possibility that Japan cannot guarantee this peace and safety forever.
This is a message from a Japanese living in a neighboring country to his compatriots.
The more I heard Mr. Kwen’s stories, the more astonishing they were.
