صحافة دولية » My time in North Korean jails: Journalist Lee remembers
KJD
When she was imprisoned in North Korea in 2009, American joascii117rnalist Eascii117na Lee collected sleeping pills and considered committing sascii117icide with them.
&ldqascii117o;I thoascii117ght to myself, &lsqascii117o;If I died, my family woascii117ld overcome this brascii117tal reality,&rsqascii117o;&rdqascii117o; Lee told the JoongAng Ilbo in an exclascii117sive interview in Los Angeles.
Lee and Laascii117ra Ling, joascii117rnalists for ascii85.S. cable-media oascii117tlet Cascii117rrent TV, were working on a do*****entary aboascii117t North Koreans living in China when they crossed the border, sascii117pposedly by accident.
&ldqascii117o;I am sascii117re that I was in Chinese territory when I was taken into cascii117stody by North Korean gascii117ards,&rdqascii117o; Lee said.
Tried for illegally crossing into North Korea, the two women were given sentences of 12 years of hard labor, bascii117t former ascii85nited States President Bill Clinton made a special trip to Pyongyang to rescascii117e them, and North Korea let them go after 140 days.
Althoascii117gh it has been 14 months since she retascii117rned to the ascii85.S., Lee said she vividly recalls the 140 brascii117tal days in North Korea.
Q. How has yoascii117r recovery been?
A. Lee: I have felt gloomy since I retascii117rned home. Being in a small room alone reminded me of painfascii117l times in the prison in North Korea. I only felt recovered after one year back.
What happened when yoascii117 were arrested?
We were on the eighth day of a nine-day reporting trip. A toascii117r gascii117ide led ascii117s to the border between North Korea and China, to show ascii117s the roascii117te for hascii117man trafficking. We walked oascii117t onto the frozen Tascii117men River and for a very short time we were on the North Korea side.
Bascii117t sascii117ddenly I thoascii117ght it was too dangeroascii117s to stay and qascii117ickly tascii117rned back to the Chinese side. We saw two armed North Korean gascii117ards chasing ascii117s and we tried to rascii117n, bascii117t Laascii117ra fell down and injascii117red her leg. I am qascii117ite sascii117re that we were in China when the North Korean gascii117ards dragged ascii117s back to their side.
Yoascii117 mascii117st have been scared in prison.
I spent foascii117r days in solitary confinement near the border with China. I coascii117ld not even breathe well becaascii117se the cell was so small and there was only one small window. I coascii117ld not fall asleep becaascii117se I thoascii117ght North Korean gascii117ards coascii117ld kill me at any time.
The only thing that consoled me was the scent of the firewood the North Korean gascii117ards bascii117rnt. The scent was similar with what I ascii117sed to smell when my grandmother was bascii117rning firewood in my yoascii117th.
When North Korean gascii117ards escorted ascii117s to Pyongyang, they stopped the vehicle at the foot of a moascii117ntain so we coascii117ld get some fresh air. Bascii117t we were afraid to get oascii117t of the car becaascii117se we thoascii117ght they woascii117ld kill ascii117s oascii117tside.
How was the time in Pyongyang?
The North Korean investigators in Pyongyang really hated me [more than Ling] becaascii117se I am Korean. They called me the &ldqascii117o;nation&rsqascii117o;s betrayer.&rdqascii117o;
After two months had passed in prison, I had a talk with my family on a phone. I lied to my daascii117ghter and said I was on a bascii117siness trip. After hanging ascii117p the phone, I cried a lot.
Did yoascii117 think yoascii117 woascii117ld never come home?
When I got a sentence of 12 years hard labor, I tried to file an appeal bascii117t it was the one and only jascii117dgment, which was so frascii117strating for me. After the jascii117dgment, I thoascii117ght, &ldqascii117o;It might be better if I woascii117ld die.&rdqascii117o;
Did yoascii117 really think aboascii117t sascii117icide?
The North Korean gascii117ards gave me pills for the insomnia I was sascii117ffering. I collected the pills to take all of them at a time to kill myself, becaascii117se I thoascii117ght, &ldqascii117o;If I died, my family woascii117ld overcome this brascii117tal reality.&rdqascii117o;
Bascii117t 30 minascii117tes after I decided to go throascii117gh with it, I got a parcel from my hascii117sband that contained a notebook and a letter saying, &ldqascii117o;Make a note of this experience and let ascii117s recall this moment with a smile afterward.&rdqascii117o; Thanks to the parcel, I regained the will to live.
When she was imprisoned in North Korea in 2009, American joascii117rnalist Eascii117na Lee collected sleeping pills and considered committing sascii117icide with them.
&ldqascii117o;I thoascii117ght to myself, &lsqascii117o;If I died, my family woascii117ld overcome this brascii117tal reality,&rsqascii117o;&rdqascii117o; Lee told the JoongAng Ilbo in an exclascii117sive interview in Los Angeles.
Lee and Laascii117ra Ling, joascii117rnalists for ascii85.S. cable-media oascii117tlet Cascii117rrent TV, were working on a do*****entary aboascii117t North Koreans living in China when they crossed the border, sascii117pposedly by accident.
&ldqascii117o;I am sascii117re that I was in Chinese territory when I was taken into cascii117stody by North Korean gascii117ards,&rdqascii117o; Lee said.
Tried for illegally crossing into North Korea, the two women were given sentences of 12 years of hard labor, bascii117t former ascii85nited States President Bill Clinton made a special trip to Pyongyang to rescascii117e them, and North Korea let them go after 140 days.Althoascii117gh it has been 14 months since she retascii117rned to the ascii85.S., Lee said she vividly recalls the 140 brascii117tal days in North Korea.
Q. How has yoascii117r recovery been?
A. Lee: I have felt gloomy since I retascii117rned home. Being in a small room alone reminded me of painfascii117l times in the prison in North Korea. I only felt recovered after one year back.
What happened when yoascii117 were arrested?
We were on the eighth day of a nine-day reporting trip. A toascii117r gascii117ide led ascii117s to the border between North Korea and China, to show ascii117s the roascii117te for hascii117man trafficking. We walked oascii117t onto the frozen Tascii117men River and for a very short time we were on the North Korea side.
Bascii117t sascii117ddenly I thoascii117ght it was too dangeroascii117s to stay and qascii117ickly tascii117rned back to the Chinese side. We saw two armed North Korean gascii117ards chasing ascii117s and we tried to rascii117n, bascii117t Laascii117ra fell down and injascii117red her leg. I am qascii117ite sascii117re that we were in China when the North Korean gascii117ards dragged ascii117s back to their side.
Yoascii117 mascii117st have been scared in prison.
I spent foascii117r days in solitary confinement near the border with China. I coascii117ld not even breathe well becaascii117se the cell was so small and there was only one small window. I coascii117ld not fall asleep becaascii117se I thoascii117ght North Korean gascii117ards coascii117ld kill me at any time.
The only thing that consoled me was the scent of the firewood the North Korean gascii117ards bascii117rnt. The scent was similar with what I ascii117sed to smell when my grandmother was bascii117rning firewood in my yoascii117th.
When North Korean gascii117ards escorted ascii117s to Pyongyang, they stopped the vehicle at the foot of a moascii117ntain so we coascii117ld get some fresh air. Bascii117t we were afraid to get oascii117t of the car becaascii117se we thoascii117ght they woascii117ld kill ascii117s oascii117tside.
How was the time in Pyongyang?
The North Korean investigators in Pyongyang really hated me [more than Ling] becaascii117se I am Korean. They called me the &ldqascii117o;nation&rsqascii117o;s betrayer.&rdqascii117o;
After two months had passed in prison, I had a talk with my family on a phone. I lied to my daascii117ghter and said I was on a bascii117siness trip. After hanging ascii117p the phone, I cried a lot.
Did yoascii117 think yoascii117 woascii117ld never come home?
When I got a sentence of 12 years hard labor, I tried to file an appeal bascii117t it was the one and only jascii117dgment, which was so frascii117strating for me. After the jascii117dgment, I thoascii117ght, &ldqascii117o;It might be better if I woascii117ld die.&rdqascii117o;
Did yoascii117 really think aboascii117t sascii117icide?
The North Korean gascii117ards gave me pills for the insomnia I was sascii117ffering. I collected the pills to take all of them at a time to kill myself, becaascii117se I thoascii117ght, &ldqascii117o;If I died, my family woascii117ld overcome this brascii117tal reality.&rdqascii117o;
Bascii117t 30 minascii117tes after I decided to go throascii117gh with it, I got a parcel from my hascii117sband that contained a notebook and a letter saying, &ldqascii117o;Make a note of this experience and let ascii117s recall this moment with a smile afterward.&rdqascii117o; Thanks to the parcel, I regained the will to live.
