Discovering Joy: Ten Years in North Korea

by Joy Yoon

On this night as we discussed the possibility of unification between North and South Korea, I found myself explaining to my North Korean dinner guests why the idea of unification was so difficult for South Koreans to accept. I explained, “Just as you were traumatized by the Korean War, South Korea was too. For you, the enemy was the United States, but for South Korea the enemy was you. Before unification can take place, we all need to be able to forgive one another for the atrocities that occurred! If I could, I would ask forgiveness of you as a U.S. citizen, although I have no authority to do so. Please know that that is my heart. Only as we learn to forgive one another will unification be possible.” Our driver immediately agreed, “Definitely! If the U.S. can ask for forgiveness, then unification will surely be imminent!” To my shock and dismay our minder then added, “But of course, we have nothing we need to ask forgiveness for! Why should we ask for forgiveness?” Although the conversation continued a while longer, it was obvious that I was hitting a wall when it came to their side of things. Out of frustration, silent tears started streaming down my face. At that point, our minder displayed obvious discomfort and quickly excused himself for the night. On his way, he quietly asked me to walk him out. In the dark just outside our doorway and away from anyone else’s ears, he did something I would have never expected in a million years. He apologized quietly and asked me no...