# N.K. official defects to South Korea **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324 "2024-07-16T15:02:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/1 "2024-07-16T15:02:13Z")
I always wonder what the culture shock is like for defectors, and how much planning he needed to pull it off. > **[Senior North Korean diplomat defects to South](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpv3xk9klwzo)** > > The diplomat is believed to be the highest-ranked official to defect to South Korea since 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/2 "2024-07-16T15:29:31Z")
For a senior diplomat, I’d imagine there’d be comparatively less culture shock, since he’d have lived a more comfortable life and know much more about South Korea and the rest of the world than the average North Korean. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/3 "2024-07-16T15:46:53Z")
There are videos on the UTube featuring NK defectors living in the west. As @Velocity says, it’s not so much a shock for a diplomat as for common farmers and laborers, but the amount of freedom I’m sure takes getting used to even for the North Korean elite. As a high ranking official he probably has more fear for his life from NK agents also. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/4 "2024-07-16T15:50:52Z")
If you’re interested, there is a youtube channel called [Dimple](https://m.youtube.com/@dimpleAwesome1) that very prominently features N.Koreans who defected. They are usually reacting to various videos and comparing what they see to life in North Korea or sometimes meeting various people and just explaining what life was like there. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/5 "2024-07-16T15:51:14Z")
I recall reading either a book or other account of a Korean woman defecting to the south. It talked about how overwhelmed she was by what she saw and heard, the easy availability of food, the noise, the lights, etc. Since those in the north are only allowed to see and hear what the government lets them see and hear, most of them have little idea of what a modern city looks like. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/6 "2024-07-16T16:33:51Z")
I fear for the defector’s family, if he has any, remaining in North Korea. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/7 "2024-07-16T16:39:36Z")
That was my thought as well. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/8 "2024-07-16T18:21:53Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I always wonder what the culture shock is like for defectors I heard an interview with a North Korean defector many hears ago, probably on NPR. The part I found memorable was that she apparently couldn’t quite grasp the difference between a tax paid to the government versus a bill paid to a private company, since private industry isn’t really a thing in North Korea. She seemed to be under the impression that the money she paid every month to the electric company was a “tax”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/9 "2024-07-16T20:52:43Z")
[**North Korean Official Flees with $30M in Kim’s Slush Funds**](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/north-korean-official-flees-with-30m-in-kim-s-slush-funds/ar-BB1pOiWq) > According to sources in [North Korea](https://viewusglobal.com/asia/article/70237/?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=feed_keyword&utm_campaign=dev), the person who embezzled the money is a high-ranking official from the North Korean military’s Security Bureau. He fled after embezzling $30 million for weapon modernization from Beijing, China, around the 11th of last month. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/10 "2024-07-16T20:59:08Z")
It’s common for North Korea to use character assassination against defectors, often accusing them of various crimes once they’ve fled. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/11 "2024-07-16T21:04:41Z")
Stealing $30M of Kim’s money seems like a character strength, not a flaw. Less available for making nukes. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/12 "2024-07-16T21:18:56Z")
Still, it does tarnish the idea of giving asylum to a political refugee if you’re also giving sanctuary to a criminal fugitive. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/13 "2024-07-16T21:26:59Z")
If it’s Xi’s money it might show poor judgement and short term thinking. Both Xi and Kim are quite willing to spend thousands of dollars in counterfeit $50 bills to have this guy whacked. He might have enjoyed more freedom back in North Korea than he’ll get now. But he does have an American Express Black Card now so he’s going to enjoy the rest of his life far more than if he stayed. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/14 "2024-07-16T21:53:26Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Still, it does tarnish the idea of giving asylum to a political refugee if you’re also giving sanctuary to a criminal fugitive Would you say the same if a Jew had stolen money from the Nazi party and then fled Germany? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/15 "2024-07-16T21:59:10Z")
As a criminal, yes. Not that I would refuse asylum or return them; that takes precedence. But criminal acts are criminal acts. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2024, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/n-k-official-defects-to-south-korea/1004324/16 "2024-07-20T21:06:15Z")
Rather than make a new thread I figured this article works here. Interesting idea-I wonder if giving this man a job would be viewed positively, and how does the average South Korean view defectors? > **[Ex-North Korean diplomat made vice minister in South](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyj4xjkvweko)** > > Tae Yong Ho was Pyongyang's deputy ambassador to the UK before he fled to South Korea in 2016.