September 30, 2025

We have spent the last month in Seoul, South Korea. With an almost nineteen-hour flight from Orlando (with a stopover in Detroit, Michigan) we planned to spend some time here. With our departure planned for October 8th, it was time to share with you some of my observations.

One cannot come to Seoul without visiting the Demilitarized Zone which is more commonly called the DMZ. On July 27, 1953, the Korean War did not end but stopped with a cease-fire that created the Northern Korea and Southern Korea Limit Lines of Military Demarcation. Now 72 years later Korea remains the only divided nation in the world and is considered the most heavily militarized region in the world.

It is surprising how normalized this situation has become to the residents of Seoul. I was reminded of arriving in Jerusalem in my 20’s and being greeted at the airport by soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with UZI sub machine guns. What startled me was normal in a city where suicide bombings had killed innocent residents on public transportation.

Now some might suggest that this postering has become no more than good theatre at the Joint Security Area (J.S.A.) here in Seoul. Having stood a distance of 2km from the border line I would argue that it is disconcerting to have North Korean soldiers pointing Type 58 assault rifles at you, a variant of the Soviet-era AK-4.

North Korean propaganda continues to this day with Kijong-Dong Village built to be seen from the border to show North Korea prosperity. Home to a pair of schools, a kindergarten, a childcare center, a hospital, and most importantly, more than 200 residents. However, it was discovered that the town is, in fact, empty of people, with the only sign of life being a few caretakers who occasionally clean the streets. Even the tens of residential buildings across the village are mere shells, with neither floors nor interior walls. Despite its apparent population of zero, the town is well-lit every night as if it were a normal place.

Through the outstanding efforts of Chongae’s brother I was able to secure a meeting with a North Korean defector, Mrs. Han Lee. Mrs. Lee is not a professional speaker, but she wanted to tell her story.

And what a story she had to tell.

Mrs. Lee, a woman of faith, always believed that there was a life other than the one she was living in North Korea. A widow, she set out to make it her mission to defect with her two grown children, a son and a daughter, to South Korea. After many years of effort, she was finally able to secure a North Korean Defection Broker to help her family defect from North Korea to come to South Korea through China and then Laos. It was determined that each family member would defect individually to avoid being captured together.

It was decided that her daughter would defect first. North Korean defectors must spend three to six months in the North Korean Refugee Protection Center. Most North Korean defectors arrive sick with stomach parasites due to malnourishment. Amazingly, Mrs. Lee’s daughter arrived safely and was followed by Mrs. Lee. This included one of the most perilous stretches of a defector’s journey the crossing of the Mekong River. This wide, fast-moving river runs for approximately 1,146 miles (1,845 kilometers) along Thailand and Laos. In some sections near the border, it can span up to a mile across. The family had predetermined that Mrs. Lee’s son would come last.

Two years ago, Mrs. Lee’s son was captured in his attempt to leave North Korea. He was sentenced to life in a North Korean labor camp. As Mrs. Lee shared her story, I realized why I immediately noticed an undeniable yearning in her eyes upon meeting her.

Despite grief that many individuals would succumb to this amazing woman of faith remains hopeful. In spite of the many propaganda films, you see of North Koreans worshipping the self-appointed supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, Mrs. Lee believes that 65%+ of North Koreans doubt Kim Jong Un’s deity and leadership. The problem, according to Mrs. Lee is that one out of five individuals in North Korea spy for the government and this includes family members. Such dictatorship paranoia keeps people fearing for their lives.

When asked why she remains hopeful for peace her answer was simple yet profound.

“It is difficult when the supposed enemy looks just like you.”

I honor Mrs. Lee’s optimism, but this is a very complicated situation.

A survey conducted on behalf of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Asia Program set out to gauge South Korean public opinion on reunification. According to the survey, the vast majority of South Koreans believe that the Republic of Korea (ROK) should continue to strive for reunification with North Korea. However, when I looked at the survey, a total of 54.4 percent of respondents in the Carnegie survey replied that China was likely to be the biggest security threat to a unified Korea.

As I’ve traveled the world these last 2 years and especially my time spent in China, I am not optimistic regarding what is happening in Beijing.

Would it be possible to merge a flourishing democracy with a family-run communist dynasty supported by China?

How realistic is it to believe that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un would be willing or even able to make key political compromises?

These are the questions that are yet to be answered before reunification can become a reality for Korea.

Thanks for traveling with us