Escape from North Korea

Over the waves to freedom

“We would have to travel about 370 kilometers by boat,” explained the father of the fishing family. “Of course it depends on the route you choose,” he added. Our home was not far from Haeju, and Mokpo was our chosen destination. The decisive day of our escape began. In the first hours of the morning we, our family together with the fishing family, made our way to the sea to board the boat. To appear as inconspicuous as possible, we even carried fishing poles with us as we made our way to shore. We boarded the boat with a mixture of joy and nervousness. “It’s 36 km to the border,” the mother of the fishing family informed us. The father gave the signal and when the boat took off we left the mainland, our hell, behind us, hopefully forever. The son of the fishing family and I, driven by nervousness, grabbed the fishing rods to make it appear as if we were looking for a suitable fishing spot. Our fishing boat reached a top speed of 15 km/h. This meant that, assuming everything went according to plan, it would take us about 2 hours and 24 minutes to get to the border. An hour after we left, a patrol quickly approached us. I panicked, but my mother quickly calmed me down by saying, “Don’t worry, Tam, grandpa knows exactly what to say in moments like this. Just let him do it, everything will be fine.” The patrol stopped us and asked for the papers, which the father of the fishing family readily handed over. After a quick look, the officer kindly pointed out that good fishing grounds were waiting for us a few kilometers away. My grandfather thanked me politely and we continued our journey. As soon as they were out of sight we burst out laughing and giggling, delighted at how well our disguise had worked.

We drove half an hour further and were only 54 minutes away from the border. "We'll wait here until nightfall," Grandpa said. Min-Ho, the son of the fishing family, and I got the sack of rice I had prepared and ate it together with the others. Our fear that the escape would not be successful His left us completely for the next few hours until shortly before dark. But, we were still nervous. While we waited for darkness to fall, we went through the plan for the next 20 hours. "Min-Ho you will with the help of Tam Use the map and compass to show us the way to the sea border," asked the father, the captain and father of the fishing family. "We'll keep an eye out for patrols," my parents said and my grandpa prepared the emergency plan in case something went wrong. But, luckily as we expected, we were surrounded by thick fog 10 minutes before the border. So that us Couldn't see any patrol at night. We drove slowly to the border. We kept an eye out so we wouldn't drive a patrol there. All of us were incredibly nervous except Grandpa, it seemed like he had already carried out an escape a thousand times.
After countless hours of tense preparation and the constant fear of being discovered, the moment of relief was almost surreal. When Grandpa announced in a whisper, “We are safe in international waters,” a quiet sigh of relief passed through the group. The nighttime crossing, far from the closely guarded border waters between North and South Korea, had brought us into an intermediate zone of hope and uncertainty. Our route, carefully planned to avoid both North Korean and South Korean patrols, took us into open waters with the goal of reaching South Korean soil.“About 20 hours left to our destination,” I muttered after checking the remaining distance to our intended point near Incheon. Min-Ho nodded seriously. “We should arrive at daybreak. But we have to be careful.”

Grandpa shook his head. “We cannot take the risk of being seen in daylight. "Political tensions are too high and any unknown movement could cause misinterpretation." He decided that we would approach a smaller, more discreet port, and only after we had reached a safe contact who could coordinate our arrival.

So we sought shelter in a remote bay, far from the usual patrol routes. Under the cover of night and hidden by the natural geography of the stretch of coast, we waited. The stars in the sky seemed brighter than ever, a peaceful contrast to the tension that had gripped us all. It was a moment of calm, embedded in the turbulence of our flight, which made us all aware of the fragility of our situation and at the same time the strength of our solidarity.