[www.ntdtv.com 2010-12-28]
Hope & Anger: South Koreans React To Kim Jong Il`s Death
Many South Koreans have gathered here, in Imjingak (EEM Gin Gahk), near the North Korean border to celebrate Kim Jong Il’s death. His death has evoked strong emotions around the world but for many of these people it has a special meaning. They are former North Koreans who have risked their lives to escape to South Korea. They are now returning to send a message to North Korea by releasing balloons filled with 2 hundred thousand fliers.
[Jang Saeyul, Representative Director, Liberation for North Koreans]:
“For a longtime I’ve waited for this day. Anyway, I hope Kim Jong Il’s death can be a good chance for China and the 23 million North Korean people to make peace with other countries.”
In North Korea, where information is tightly controlled, getting information from the outside world has to be done with balloons. The North Korean defectors have also included news about the fall of other dictatorships.
[Han Changkweon, Chairman, Union of Defectors Against North Korea]:
“Kim Jong Il should have died like Saddam Hussein or Colonel Gaddafi, being hung by his neck from the nation’s judgment, but he died a natural death instead.”
After Kim Jong Il’s death, the Korean stock market suddenly dropped, and the currency exchange rate increased. But Korean businessmen are reacting with a larger goal in mind.
[Ha Jing, Branch Director, Hyundai Construction Corporation]:
“This situation affects South Korea’s economy partially. But it can’t effect it much or for a long period of time because South Korea has a very strong economic base. Also this can be a good chance for North Korean people to improve their life and can encourage a peaceful unification.”
We can definitely say that in Seoul, people are hoping for freedom and peace more than the economic profit.
NTD News, Seoul, South Korea