Former elite N.Korean guard opens convenience store in Seoul

“Hello!”

Customers who enter a convenience store in Seoul’s southern district of Seocho can hear a resonant voice of the store owner and former North Korean defector, who uses the pseudonym Cha Gwang-su. Before fleeing the Stalinist country in 1999, he was the chief guard at the Kim Il Sung Vacation Home in the North’s Jagang Province. Since opening the store April 4, Cha, 43, has always greeted customers with a smile. He cleans a table frequently.

“I took over a store that was almost bankrupt for a low price,” he said, adding, “I came here to South Korea carrying only a gun while having a near-death experience. I will revive this store.”

Cha invested 10 million won (8,780 U.S. dollars) of his own money and 40 million won (35,100 dollars) borrowed from Freedom College, a special education institution for North Korean defectors, to take over the store.

He was among the elite citizens in the North, but was sentenced to forced labor in 1999 after accidentally dropping a medal awarded by North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. After hearing from the people he met at a labor camp that “even dogs eat rice in China,” he escaped from the North.

After crossing the Tumen River with just an AK-assault rifle, he lived a movie-like life until he came to South Korea in 2006. “After fleeing the North, I went to the South Korean consulate in China but it didn’t accept me. Afterwards, I wandered throughout China and Myanmar by relying on the special training I received in the North.”

He also worked as a leader of hired guerillas in disputed regions in Myanmar for three years after saving the life of a Chinese businessman in 2001. He lived the life of a fighter by assisting gangsters in China.

“I lived a shameful life by working on behalf of owners of gambling places,” he said, adding, “I`d always wished to go to the affluent South Korea to earn money and lead a blameless life.”

He met his wife in Hanawon, a resettlement center for defectors in South Korea, and the couple has a daughter, 4. When things get tough, he said he gets a boost from his daughter’s photo stored in his mobile phone.

When he received a video call from his daughter while having an interview with The Dong-A Ilbo, Cha said with a big smile, “I`ll go home after working hard. I love you.” “I didn’t hesitate to work as a delivery man at (Seoul`s) Garak Market and a building cleaner to support my family,” adding, “I opened my business with my hard-earned money, so I will succeed no matter what.”

Cha said he is also eager to help others. He works with another defector who was disabled in a car accident. “My co-worker makes many mistakes, but I teach him earnestly to help him stand on his own two feet,” Cha said. “It’s been only a week since I opened this store, but I feel happy if I see sales grow. I had no difficulty in running the store, except items whose names are written in English.”

jikim@donga.com