Shin believed they were going to murder him, until he overheard the word “comradeâ€? in a thick North Korean accent. His abductors loaded him onto a motorboat and sped off. In the morning, they transferred him to a freighter, the 6XJXQ KR. Although he did not know it, the same vessel had transported Choi to North 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 that Lee himself had taken. When Shin asked if Choi Eun-hee was alright, they made up a story that South Korean intelligence had kidnapped her and killed her for cooperating with 1RUWK .RUHD¡V )DWKHUODQG 5HXQLĂ€FDWLRQ )URQW 61 After 3 days of travel, Shin was transported to a black speedboat which WUDYHOHG DOO QLJKW DQG Ă€QDOO\ GHOLYHUHG KLP WR RQH ODVW YHVVHO 2Q -XO\ Shin arrived at the harbor in Nampo. Two men dressed in Mao-style tunics greeted him on shore, with one reaching out his hand saying, “Welcome to the Socialist Fatherland.â€?62 WHEN DIRECTOR SHIN SANG-OK ARRIVED IN NORTH KOREA, THE REGIME HAD ALREADY PREPARED CUSTOM-MADE CLOTHES FOR HIM
Shin recalled this conversation with the North Korean “handlerâ€? who welcomed him: “See, everything has been prepared so that you can live without any inconvenience.â€? 7KHUH ZHUH VRFNV XQGHUZHDU VKLUWV FXIĂ LQNV D *HUPDQ PDGH PDQLFXUH VHWÂŤ ´, GRQ¡W NQRZ DERXW WKH UHVW RI LW EXW ,¡OO EHW WKH VKLUWV GRQ¡W Ă€W Âľ , VDLG ´, ZHDU D VL]H ½ collar, which is bigger than average, and the arm length is 32 inches, which is shorter than the average ready-made size. “Try them on.â€? +H VHHPHG VWUDQJHO\ FRQĂ€GHQW “Try them on now,â€? he said. “I’ll try them on later,â€? I said. “No, please try them on now,â€? he insisted. I gave into his persistence and took off my clothes and tried on the shirt. I was amazed. 7KH VKLUW Ă€W DV LI LW KDG EHHQ FXVWRP PDGH IRU PH “How did you know my neck size and arm length?â€? I asked. ´+D KDÂŤZLWK VXFK DQ LPSRUWDQW JXHVW GR \RX WKLQN ZH ZRXOG QRW NQRZ VXFK D WKLQJ"Âľ SOURCE: Choi Eun-hee and Shin Sang-ok, -RJXNHXQ -HRKDQHXO -HRPPHROOL (.LGQDSSHG WR WKH .LQJGRP RI .LP -RQJ ,O , Vol I. p 165.
61 62
Ibid., p 47-50. Ibid., p 162-163.
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