美国国家公共电台 NPR 'I Was Shocked By Freedom': Defectors Reflect On Life In North Korea

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

North Korea is one of the most secretive regimes in the world. Its leader demands unquestioning loyalty¹ from its citizens. NPR's Lauren Frayer had a chance to hear about what it's like living under those circumstances from the people who know - North Korean defectors. The women she talked with shared stories about life in North Korea the last time tensions with the West were running high.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking Korean).

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE²: This video of a North Korean parade last month shows soldiers marching in formation. Lee So-yeon knows all the steps because she was once one of those soldiers.

LEE SO-YEON: (Through interpreter) All of us soldiers had to march. It unified³ us and showed off our strength to the outside world.

FRAYER: When famine devastated⁴ North Korea in the 1990s, women volunteered for the military in droves, many for the food rations⁵. Lee joined in 1992 and served nearly 10 years. She tried to defect, was imprisoned⁶ and tortured. And finally, in 2008, she managed to sneak⁷ across the Tumen River to China.

LEE S.: (Through interpreter) I was shocked by freedom. I didn't need permission to do anything. I couldn't believe there was hot water, hairdryers. I could vote for whomever I wanted and all the food.

FRAYER: Lee has since become an advocate for female defectors, but from her time in the military, she's able to offer insight into what the North Korean government wants its own people to know. As a soldier, state TV blasted nonstop in her office, she says.

LEE S.: (Through interpreter) There's a TV in every army barracks. When there was a nuclear test, state TV told us to feel proud, so we did. Even when there were peace talks between North and South Korea, state TV told us it was a ploy⁸ for the South to take over our country.

FRAYER: The media in North Korea do not merely report information. Instead, they're a tool for the regime to stir emotion, especially when it feels threatened - as it does now - says John Young son, a professor of North Korea studies in Seoul.

JEON YOUNG-SUN: (Through interpreter) Outside pressure on North Korea - sanctions or threats of attack - actually help the regime. North Korea is, as always, on the defensive⁹, and fear rallies people around their dear leader.

(CROSSTALK)

FRAYER: And it's not just soldiers. Lee Hyeonseo, another defector, was a high school student in 1994 when the Clinton administration came close to a pre-emptive military strike on North Korea's nuclear program. Her school ended classes and sent the students out digging trenches¹⁰ for months.

LEE HYEONSEO: We were so scared at the time. We really thought we going to have a war. And then we were proud. We believed we going to win in this war because our dear leader, they're superior - and gods - who can make everything happen.

FRAYER: For her, the state was everywhere.

LEE H.: What we hear, what we see the most is the dear leader's name. I'm not joking. It's like a hundred times in a day.

FRAYER: On TV, in school and even in song. During my interview with Lee So-yeon, the former North Korean soldier, she begins to sing...

LEE S.: (Singing in Korean).

FRAYER: ...About becoming a bullet for the dear leader.

LEE S.: (Singing in Korean, laughter).

FRAYER: And then she laughs. She realizes how strange it sounds to sing this here in the South Korean capital.

LEE S.: (Speaking Korean).

FRAYER: "But I was brainwashed," she says, "and that's what's scary." Lauren Frayer, NPR News, Seoul.

1 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 rations   

定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量

参考例句：

• They are provisioned with seven days' rations. 他们得到了7天的给养。
• The soldiers complained that they were getting short rations. 士兵们抱怨他们得到的配给不够数。

6 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

7 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

8 ploy   

n.花招，手段

参考例句：

• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.我认为这只是政府欺骗公众的手段。
• Christmas should be a time of excitement and wonder,not a cynical marketing ploy.圣诞节应该是兴奋和美妙的时刻，而不该是一种肆无忌惮的营销策略。

9 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

10 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。