※Translated with Notion AI. (Plus version)
“I never imagined freedom could be so dazzling.”
I can’t forget the smile on the face of the North Korean defector working at my company in Seoul as he said those words.
His words about his first Christmas in South Korea—especially December 24th—were filled with wonder, emotion, and a quiet pain reflecting on his difficult days in North Korea.
For him, having been born and raised in North Korea, the culture of Christmas itself was an unknown world.
The brilliant illuminations decorating South Korean streets, Christmas songs filling the air, people spending time with smiles alongside family and lovers—it was like another world entirely to him.
The scene on the same day, December 24th, in North Korea was in stark contrast.
What was North Korea’s “Christmas” like, as told through his words?
Reading further reveals the reality he experienced in North Korea and the true meaning of “freedom” he felt in South Korea.
“On my first Christmas Eve in South Korea, I couldn’t believe how bright the streets were.”
The concept of Christmas doesn’t exist in North Korea.
December 24th is celebrated as the birthday of Madame Kim Jong-suk—wife of North Korea’s first leader Kim Il-sung and grandmother of current leader Kim Jong-un.
