Rapping for Korea

Kang Chun-hyok was born in North Korea, in the northeastern province of Hamgyong, where he spent the first twelve years of his life there. Poverty and hunger were a constant for the family, especially during the great famine in the mid-nineties which caused mass starvation in the impoverished nation leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths. In 1998, the family decided to flee the country in despair. After an arduous three-year journey, they finally arrived in South Korea.

In 2003, Kang began drawing as a means of visually documenting his experiences as a child in North Korea. He is currently a student at a well-known art school in Seoul. This summer, he participated in a TV program for aspiring hip-hop artists entitled "Show me the money," where he shocked both audience and judges with candid lyrics about the situation in his home country and open criticism of the ruling regime.

Even though he didn't make it past the second round, his performance caused a reaction: Yang Dong-geun, a popular South Korean hip-hop-artist was so impressed by Kang that he decided to produce an album with him, which is scheduled to be released before the end of the year.

In a DW interview, the artist says that with his music and art, he wants to raise awareness about the various problems and ongoing atrocities in his home country.

DW: What is the core message that you want to get across to your audience with your art and your music?

Park Chun-hyok: What I want to get across to the audience with my art and music is the reality of North and South Korea, the countries that still remain divided after the Korean War. I was born in North Korea and went through many things on my way to South Korea. As a witness of a difficult journey, I want to criticize the North Korean government for all the crimes it has committed towards its people.

Starvation, death, public executions, hiding and wandering in a third country, falling prey to human trafficking and children's rights violations - those are only a fraction of numerous human rights violations committed by North Korea. I would like to let he world know of this reality through my music and art.

You are rapping about some very sensitive topics concerning your home country - such as the infamous labour camps or the ongoing dispute about the DPRK's nuclear programme. Why did you choose to concentrate on political rap?

My intent is not necessarily to bring shame on my home country. I want to criticize North Korea's political system and its long-held dictatorship, and let the world know about the already collapsed North Korean society under socialism.

How do people react to the lyrics of your songs? What kind of feedback do you get?

At first, everyone seemed puzzled. However, after they understand the depth of the lyrics, they are shocked. It is unfamiliar and shocking to them because people usually write about one's personal story, love, break-up and other things in hip hop music. The audience understands the reality of North Korea and my experience which I try to convey through my music. That's encouraging.

Are you in any way afraid of how the North Korean Regime might react to your work?

The North Korean regime may react. However, if it does, that means it admits to everything I have said about the country, so I am not afraid.

When you think about your childhood in North Korea, are there any specific memories that you have?

Just like everybody else, I feel homesick. No matter how hungry I am, I still miss my friends. The friends I played and went to school with. All the shocking images that I witnessed also remain in my mind. Whether good or bad, memories are memories, and when I meet my friends who have also escaped from North Korea, we comfort each other by talking about our childhood memories. We laugh and cry together.

When and why did you decide to leave North Korea?

In 1997, my family was starving, and my desperate father decided to go to China to look for work in order to provide for his family. Only my mother knew where he was going; he had told me he would be far away from home for work. In 1998, the state police told us that my father was in prison. That's when I finally learned that he had been in China to earn money and was caught by the police on his way home.

While in prison, my father became weak and was on the verge of death. The police allowed him to go home temporarily to recover, but he was ordered to return to jail once he recovered. My father did not want to miss this opportunity to escape, so he persuaded my mother and me that we should together escape to China.

At the time, five or six neighbors who had heard that my father had been to China came to our house and asked my father to take them with us. He accepted their plea, and in March 1998, we all escaped North Korea by crossing the Tumen River.

What happened then?

We escaped North Korea by crossing the Tumen River. In China, we lived in fear of being caught and were constantly hiding from people. In 2001, our neighbors reported us to the Chinese police, and one early morning of late spring, Chinese police officers raided our house and took us all to prison.

At that time, my cousin who had also managed to escape from North Korea, lived with us in China. Luckily, he was able to escape through a window when the police came. When my family had been in prison for a month, waiting to be repatriated back to North Korea, my cousin was able to borrow money from his friends to bribe the Chinese officials. The officials took the bribe and let us go. We soon grew fearful of living in China and decided to go to South Korea.

My cousin and I left China first. We told my parents to wait until we came to get them. We went to Vietnam and then to Cambodia, where we were able to stay in a safe place with help from the South Korean consulate.

I asked the consular officers to help bring my parents out of China, and my parents also safely arrived in Cambodia. Reunited at last, my family stayed at the consulate for a while until the office was done preparing our paperwork. We arrived in South Korea later that year.

How has your past stamped you until today?

My childhood in North Korea and China has shaped who I am today and helped me become stronger. Things I experienced in the past have taught me lessons in life, helped me move forward and allowed me to dream of a reunified Korea.

It has been several years since you left North Korea. Do you feel at home in South Korea?

North and South Korean people have become strangers to one another. But I believe Korea is one nation. South Korea has also become my home.

If political circumstances change at some point in the future, could you imagine going back to North Korea?

If Korea is reunited in the near future, I will definitely go visit my hometown. I am also willing to help rebuild desolate neighborhoods in North Korea.

This interview was translated from Korean into English by the Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights