lakepurity: 북한으로 도망가, 선전도구로 평생 이용된 미군병사,James Dresnok, 74세로 인생마감

Thursday, August 24, 2017

북한으로 도망가, 선전도구로 평생 이용된 미군병사,James Dresnok, 74세로 인생마감

1970년대 중반에 이곳 캐나다에서 새로운 삶의 터전을 닦기위해 첫발을 내디딘후, 제2의 언어, 영어를 배우기 위해, George Brown College에 등록하고, 첫번째 강의를 할때, Instructor로 교실의 Podium에 올라선 사람은 나의 상상을 뒤엎고, 백인이 아닌 혼열아 였었는데, 아버지는 영국의 귀족집안의 아들이었고, 어머니는 태국출신의 지성을 겸비한 여성이었다고 자기를 소개 했었다. 그리고 뒤돌아서서, Blackboard에 Chalk로 문장 하나를 써 놓았다.

"There is no heaven on earth. Canada is a good country to live on but there are robberies and swindles and so on in our society."

그후 캐나다 생활을 하면서, 그선생님의 말씀을 한시도 머리에서 지워본 적이 없었다.
캐나다는 지구상에서 가장 잘사는 나라중의 하나로 많은 사람들이 이민오기위한 선호국가 1번으로 사람들에게 알려져 있다. 그러나 사람 사는 곳이기에 부작용도 많다. 그런 뜻으로 그때 당시에 Instructor는 칠판에 그문장을 옮겼던 그뜻을 이해 했기 때문이었다.

1962년 주한미군병사, James Dresnok일병이, 전방에서 근무중 지뢰밭이라 해도 과언이 아닐, Demarcation Line을 넘어 이북으로 도망가서 한평생을 그곳에서 살다가 얼마전 생을 마감했다.

평생을 살면서, 이북에 대해서 "지상천국"이라고 입만열면 떠들어 대고, 이북에서 미국 또는 서방 세계를 비난하는 영화를 만들때, 양키 배역은 그와 그의 아들이 맡아서 해냈다는 것이다.
죽으면서도, 김정은 Regime에 충성을 다하고, 그러한 훈육을 너희들 다음 세대에도 꼭 유산으로 넘겨 주어야 한다 라고 했단다.
김정은으로서는 커다란 충복하나를 잃어버린 셈인데..... 진짜 그렇게 느꼈을까?

미국에서 태어나 청년기를 보내고, 군복무를 하면서, 물질의 부족함 없이 잘 살았던 그역시도 북한의 Propaganda에 넘어가, 김일성태양이라고 부르짖으면서 살았는데, 문통이하 임종석등등 친북좌파들의 생각은 James보다 어쩌면 더 북한을 동경하는 생각으로 포장되여 있고, 민주주의 절차를 밟아 진행하는 자유 서방세계속의 하나인 남한과 국민들의 사상은 천민주의와 거짖으로 더럽혀진, 사람살곳이 못되는것 쯤으로 여기고 있기에, 3일간격(광복절 경축사와 청와대 국민보고대회)으로 대국민 흑색선전에 이어 환경파괴의 주범인 원전 때려 부시겠다고 열을 올리고 있는것도 James Dresnok의 사상과 일치 하는것으로 보여진다. BBC의 기사를 옮겨 놓았다.

James Dresnok, the last known US soldier living in North Korea, died of a stroke aged 74 late last year, his sons have confirmed.

Mr Dresnok's children said he was loyal to North Korea until the end, in a video interview published last week by local news outlet Uriminzokkiri.

After crossing over to the North in 1962 he went to lead an extraordinary life in Pyongyang.

This included a stint as a star in North Korea's film industry.

What did his sons say?

Rumours of Mr Dresnok's death surfaced earlier this year, and the latest video, featuring his sons Ted and James Jr wearing military uniforms and speaking in fluent Korean, is confirmation.

James Jr said that "our family was shocked because my father died unexpectedly", but added "my father ended his days without regret."

Ted, who is the older son, said his father "received only the love and care of the party until his passing".

"One thing that our father asked us to do was to become faithful workers that render devoted service to the dear leader Kim Jong-Un and to raise our children so they will follow and brighten that path," he said.

The interview was published online by North Korean television news outlet Uriminzokkiri last Friday.

It was the second time the two sons had appeared on the channel. In May 2016 they were seen praising North Korea in another video.

The two men have said in the videos that they serve in North Korea's military, and are married with children.

Why is this interview being released now?

Given that Mr Dresnok died last year, questions have been raised about the timing of the interview.

It was published just before the US and South Korea embarked on military exercises which routinely anger the North, and comes after weeks of provocative rhetoric between the US and Pyongyang.

It also appears to be targeted at a foreign audience - it was published on Uriminzokkiri's YouTube channel and has not been aired or mentioned in domestic media, according to BBC Monitoring.

But the video has also come out a week after the Los Angeles Times ran an interview with another US soldier who defected to North Korea, Charles Jenkins, whose past accounts have clashed with Mr Dresnok's. Mr Jenkins eventually made his way back to the US.

North Korean analyst Michael Madden told the BBC such videos were a relic from a bygone generation of North Korean propaganda play.

He said it was likely that many of those who acted as Mr Dresnok's minders are no longer part of the leadership.

Uriminzokkiri is not considered state media, but is thought to be run by North Korean intelligence, and is meant to have a pan-Korean outlook with an external focus, according to Mr Madden.

"The department is long known to have been responsible for the small and motley collection of foreign North Korean citizens, and the message conveyed by the sons of Mr Dresnok is likely to have been an important one for them," said Mr Madden.

What is Mr Dresnok's story?

Mr Dresnok was one of four US soldiers who defected to North Korea in the 1960s, and spent more than 50 years living in the secretive Communist country.

He was facing divorce and a court martial at the time of his defection.

In a 2006 documentary film with British filmmakers called Crossing The Line, he said he told himself "to hell with this - I was fed up with my childhood, my marriage, my military life. Everything - I was finished."

"There's only one place to go."

He left at lunchtime on 15 August 1962, not sure if he would survive the trip across the mine-strewn demilitarised zone (DMZ) marking the border between the North and South Korea.

But he did, eventually starting a new life on the other side, and marrying a Romanian woman, with whom he had Ted and James Jr.

He also had a third son, born in 2001, after he married the daughter of a Korean woman and an African diplomat following the death of his Romanian wife.

Along with other deserters, Mr Dresnok played a prominent role in North Korean propaganda cinema from the late 1970s onwards - playing the American enemy - and became a household celebrity.

He also taught in a foreign language college, and translated writings by North Korean leaders into English.

His voice was used in messages played across the border at his former brothers-in-arms, telling US soldiers about his new life and encouraging them to cross the border.

"I have never regretted coming to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea", he said in the 2006 film's opening minutes, speaking in English with a strong American accent.

"I feel at home. I really feel at home... I wouldn't trade it for nothing."He left at lunchtime on 15 August 1962, not sure if he would survive the trip across the mine-strewn demilitarised zone (DMZ) marking the border between the North and South Korea.