Taken! - US Committee for Human Rights in North Korea

successor, his name had never appeared in the North Korean media. It was NorthKorea’s way of keeping the father-son succession away from the prying eyes of theoutside world.He thrust out his hand. I didn’t want to shake hands with the man who had engineeredmy kidnapping, but I had no choice. With my head lowered, I extended my hand. Atthat moment, cameras everywhere began to snap photos. I was dressed in a jacketand bell-bottomed slacks and my hair was a mess. I screamed hysterically for themnot to take my picture. I didn’t want any record of that moment.”SOURCE: Choi Eun-hee and Shin Sang-ok, Jogukeun Jeohaneul Jeommeolli (Kidnappedto the Kingdom of Kim Jong-Il), Vol I. p 28.Choi Eun-hee’s ex-husband, a famous movie director, Shin Sang-ok, traveledto Hong Kong when Choi did not return to Seoul on time and could not be reached.He was met by two of his associates, Kim Kyu-hwa and Lee Young-seng, who toldhim that Choi had been missing for over ten days, and that while in Hong Kong sheFour men wereblocking theroad, opened thedoor, pulled Shinout, and put a knifeto his throat.had met with Mr. Wang Dong-il and Ms. Lee Sang-hee.Shin immediately suspected that North Korea wasinvolved, knowing that Lee Sang-hee had a child with abusinessman who frequently traveled to Pyongyang. Healso knew she had frequently visited the Shin Films officein Hong Kong, and recalled a particular time when Leehad taken several pictures of him as “souvenirs.” 8 Shintold Kim and Lee of his suspicions, and asked them tonotify him if anything turned up. 59To avoid censorship in the South Korean filmindustry, Shin used Hong Kong as a base, traveling from there to several countriesto promote his films outside of Korea, all the while continuing to search for cluesregarding his ex-wife’s disappearance. Kim Kyu-hwa, who had arranged for Choi tocome to Hong Kong, provided the most important clue: he confessed to Shin that hehad been paid by Lee Sang-hee and Wang Dong-il to abduct her.In July of 1978, Shin needed to renew his passport, but Lee Young-sengsuggested he could avoid returning to Seoul to get one. He suggested that Shin couldbuy a passport from a Central American country for $10,000. Shin agreed, and thatnight the two of them drove to Repulse Bay to complete the deal. After they waitedat the assigned time and place, Lee phoned his contact, and a white Mercedes cameand picked them up. When they got in, Shin asked where they were going, and Leedid not reply. They came to a point where four men were blocking the road, openedthe door, pulled Shin out, and put a knife to his throat. They put a nylon bag over hisentire body, and carried Shin toward the ocean. 9Shin believed they were going to murder him, until he overheard theword “comrade” in a thick North Korean accent. His abductors loaded him ontoa motorboat and sped off. In the morning, they transferred him to a freighter, theSugun-ho. Although he did not know it, the same vessel had transported Choi toNorth Korea. Crewmembers revealed to Shin that Lee Young-seng was not Chinese,and was in fact one of their operatives, and showed him pictures of Shin thatLee himself had taken. When Shin asked if Choi Eun-hee was alright, they madeup a story that South Korean intelligence had kidnapped her and killed her forcooperating with North Korea’s Fatherland Reunification Front. 61After 3 days of travel, Shin was transported to a black speedboat whichtraveled all night and finally delivered him to one last vessel. On July 22, 1978,Shin arrived at the harbor in Nampo. Two men dressed in Mao-style tunics greetedhim on shore, with one reaching out his hand saying, “Welcome to the SocialistFatherland.” 62WHEN DIRECTOR SHIN SANG-OK ARRIVED IN NORTH KOREA, THEREGIME HAD ALREADY PREPARED CUSTOM-MADE CLOTHES FOR HIMShin recalled this conversation with the North Korean “handler” whowelcomed him:“See, everything has been prepared so that you can live without any inconvenience.”There were socks, underwear, shirts, cufflinks, a German-made manicure set…“I don’t know about the rest of it, but I’ll bet the shirts don’t fit,” I said. “I wear a size 16 ½collar, which is bigger than average, and the arm length is 32 inches, which is shorter thanthe average ready-made size.“Try them on.”He seemed strangely confident.“Try them on now,” he said.“I’ll try them on later,” I said.“No, please try them on now,” he insisted.I gave into his persistence and took off my clothes and tried on the shirt. I was amazed.The shirt fit as if it had been custom made for me.“How did you know my neck size and arm length?” I asked.“Ha ha…with such an important guest, do you think we would not know such a thing?”SOURCE: Choi Eun-hee and Shin Sang-ok, Jogukeun Jeohaneul Jeommeolli(Kidnapped to the Kingdom of Kim Jong-Il), Vol I. p 165.58Ibid., p 156.59Ibid., p 53-54.60Ibid., p 47-49.61Ibid., p 47-50.62Ibid., p 162-163.28 29