South Korean Man Makes Unusual Return to North Korea For Good
In a plot twist that sounds more like a dramatic movie than real life, 72‑year‑old Choe In‑guk has decided to live in Pyongyang after a long, painful ride back to the land of his parents’ upheaval. The drama began when, over three decades ago, his parents made a headline‑making defecting move to North Korea—an act that caught the public eye and left a legacy of stigma and financial woes that followed the family like a shadow.\n
Why Choe Made the Trip
Friends say Choe’s move is not just another political statement but a reflection of the deep guilt and fiscal strain that became part of his family history. His dad, Choe Dok‑shin, a retired general who once served as foreign minister under Park Chung‑hee, left South Korea in 1976 when his relationship with the Park administration soured. The family then chose a path out of the US into North Korea, becoming perhaps the most famous South‑Korean defectors ever.
The story of his life after that famed switch helps explain why Choe cannot quit Seoul for good. He had a hard time finding stable employment and needed to make a living to support his estranged wife and children—gone, in the eyes of his friends, to “time‑traveled skills” no longer in demand. “He constantly regretted it because he couldn’t help his kids,” said Na Han‑yub, a longtime friend of the man.
The Financial Angle
Choe’s friends also tell that he felt a deep sense of pain and “nothing” in South Korea. His protest was a mix of discomfort about climate and a direct message to the South: “I’m for good.” The father sent him on “12 official trips across the border” since 2001—so no surprise that he never stopped thinking about the thrills and gut feelings that bound him to Pyongyang.
In November, on the third anniversary of his mother’s passing, the last of these trips reminded him of the twin kingdom’s many policies that South Korean citizens can’t visit North Korea without permission. What made the whole affair all the more bewildering in Seoul was that the South Korea unification ministry only learned about the move when a televised video was released on the day of his arrival.
Why Such Moves Are Rare
- Defection to the North is a rare reverse of the typical flow from North to South.
- South Korea’s viewpoint: “We receive over 30,000 defectors from the North since the Korean War to escape decades of repression and poverty.”
- Choe becomes, in a sense, a “walk‑through” for the place that sparked his parents’ known drama.
Choe’s Story in Real Life
For developers over the years, the cultural and political differences had to be narrated in personal terms. Around 2000, a bringing out of a reunion, played by his wife Ryu, with a North Korean delegation that went on an official touch with a Seoul meeting— “he was the only family that lived in the North or was able to keep its personal relationship down.” They contracted with reunification, and the husband had a history of accommodating it.
Despite the life he could endure, the late father died in 2016, leaving a man who finally decided to leave the country he grew up with in that moment at last.
While no word is spoken in this article, the spirit of the drama will remain clear in a humorous, emotional tone full of “that such a smile turned unforgettable.”
