Timothy Tovar

3rd English

No Need for Us
There was a black void in Seoks heart.1 I cant believe she actually left, he
thought, what would happen now? Who do I talk to? What should I do? Question after
question, thought after thought, Seok was driving himself insane. He wanted to get out
of here, this place of lies and oppression, but he was too scared to do anything about it. 2
Oak-hee3 was a very beautiful woman now. She had just turned 18 not one
month before, and she now was ready for something different in her life. She felt as
though she was given an opportunity to do something besides work in a factory. 4She
knew that change was soon, she knew that she didnt want to starve anymore; she
knew that she could escape North Korea once and for all. But, she also knew that she
didnt want to do it alone.
The year was 1997. North Korea was in one of the worst year of famine in the
history of its time. People were literally surviving off of nothing, yet many found very
unique ways to feed their family. As it was, North Korea was baron place, full of fake,
empty buildings, and big statues of former God-Rulers. 5 The government spent most
of its money to supply the army, rather than help their people at all. Seok and Oak-hee
had just finished their school career and had to decide what was next in life for them.
They always talked to each other about decisions that were being made ever since they
were little. Seok and Oak-hee had lived in the same neighborhood since they were both
infants and their families were always friends (recently though, a division between their
parents made it harder for them to see each other). Seoks parents were very lawabiding, stern, and straight forward. Oak-hees parents were very open with their

Timothy Tovar
3rd English

daughter, they let her do most things that were reasonable and out of the way, and were
very supportive of her. But lately, all the hard work and pain that the families had gone
through made them slowly start to resent each other. Seok and Oak-hee knew that their
relationship would have to be hidden if they were to continue to see each other. Their
long time friendship grew past the point of just friends. Seok and Oak-hee really like
each other and they couldnt imagine a life without their other half.
One day, Seok was waiting near his house for Oak-hee. Both of their parents
were out working, and they decided this would be the day that they helped each other
decide what they were going to do in the future. Seok was strong, smart, and
occasionally clumsy. He thought that his future lied where his parents wanted him to
go: the Korean Peoples Army. He was nervous, but ultimately thought that he would
prosper in a place where everything was so precise and perfect.
Oak-hees future was very different than Seoks. She had known that she
wanted to leave North Korea for a while. Only recently had she realized that she could
actually do it. No one expected Oak-hee to think like this. She was a smart student, did
everything she was told to do and even looked like the ideal North Korean girl. She
realized that she could put on a faade that most couldnt see through.
Oak-hee walked up to Seok and gave him a long hug. She was confident that
she was ready for change, but nervous of the consequences of getting caught. Seok,
we should leave this place, she said quietly as they embraced, Our families are
starving and I cant stand to have my future children grow up in a country like this.

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3rd English

You know that we cant just leave. There are rules, Seok claimed, Plus, I was
actually thinking about joining the military.
The military, why? They arent any better off than us! We need to leave this
place. There is no need for us here.
Oak-hee, you know that what youre saying can get you into a lot of trouble?
Dont make me to have to tell the authorities on you. 6
You would do that to me? After all we have been through? Youre pathetic.
Oak-hee left without looking at Seok. She was devastated at the fact that he didnt want
to leave, but even more hurt that he would try and give her up that easily. They had
been friends, even more than friends, for so long and then he betrays her? She was
hurt and confused. Not knowing what to think anymore, Oak-hee slowly gathered her
things, and left.
After the incident, Seok knew that what he did was wrong. By his parents wishes
he still joined the army, but he never saw Oak-hee. He kept hearing those last words
come out of her mouth Youre pathetic, and he soon realized that what he was doing
wasnt what he wanted. He deeply cared about Oak-hee, maybe even loved her, and
now she was gone. Her parents had asked the police to find her, but they knew the
consequences if they retrieved her. Seok was worried, but knew that Oak-hee was
street smart and would be fine in any situation she was in. Still, he wanted to be with
her, but knew that she probably didnt feel the same.

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3rd English

A few months later, Seok returned home from the military to find his parents very
proud of him. He knew that he had achieved their respect and was glad that they
appreciated him as a son. Being at his house was nice, unlike the barracks for the army,
but Seok still was missing Oak-hee. She had gone too fast and now he was lonely,
wondering where she could possibly be.
Oak-hee was exhausted from the worst van ride she ever taken. She had
managed to get to the border of North Korean and China and get smuggled across.
The prices were all very high, but she knew that there was no going back from here.
She was in China, now all she needed was to get to North Korea. Slowly, Oak-hee was
able to have an income where she could save some money to get to South Korea.
Everyday though, she missed seeing Seok. She wondered how much he hated her
since their last argument. She wondered how the military was treating him. She
wondered how her parents were holding up. Oak-hee knew she had to move on from
her past life in North Korea, but the pain of never being able to see them again hurt her.
She told herself that this new path was for the better, she told herself to never look
back.
Seoks parents had gotten very sick from the malnutrition. Supplies in North
Korea were the lowest they have ever been. People were on the streets begging for
any sort of help. They were dying. Children would be seen in an alley way or in a field,
lying motionless, just skin and bones. Seok knew that it was time for him to leave. He
knew that he shouldve listened to Oak-hee in the first place. He gave most of his
savings to help feed his parents, and then he went off to be free of this horrid country.

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3rd English

For Seok, he didnt know what to expect when he tried to leave North Korea. He
made it very far from his home to the border of the North and South: the 38 th Parallel.
The line stretched for miles and miles, and both countries militaries were ready to
attack at any orders given to. It was a very dark night when Seok arrived to the huge
fence that separated the countries. He planned to get under it. He readied himself
accordingly, and used many different tools to dig a whole and to stop the electricity from
running through the fence. He had a few minutes to get under and to get to freedom.
As he started, everything went according to plan, but then he saw a light flash not too
far away. A flashlight turned on, a North Korean soldier was making his rounds, and
checking to see if everything was secure. Seok was now panicking, he was still halfway
under and the soldier was closing in on him fast. He tried to crawl a little faster, but then
he heard the fences electricity get turned back on. He was stuck. If he moved, the
fence would kill him, if he didnt move the soldier would kill him. There was no way he
was going to survive this.
The year is 2001, and Oak-hee has been living in South Korea for about two
years now. She has a job, a husband, and child thats expected. Her life is
exponentially better than one in North Korea. She is now a happy wife, not having to
constantly worry about what she says or what she sees, what she hears or what she
does. She is a free woman. There are times that made her miss North Korea though.
She missed seeing Seok, her first true love, and she missed her parents. She missed
the way she would get butterflies in her stomach before sneaking out to see Seok, or
the way her parents would give her guidance on everything. She is now free from the
oppression, but she knows that she wishes she had convinced her best friend to be with

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3rd English

her. Seok was the thing that was a constant, her foundation, her rock, but now she
knew that she would never get the chance to take back those last words she said to
him. She loved him, but only in a important memory.

Timothy Tovar
3rd English

Seok is a common Korean male name. It means rock or stone. Seok is a strong
person who envelops the idea of someone sturdy and solid.
1

Ever since the Korean war, the North Korean govt has established a way to oppress
many of the people by police force and intimidation.
2

Oak=hee is a name I got from the novel I read about North Korea. Her character in
Nothing to Envy Ordinary Lives in North Korea was one of being rebellious. She
escapes in the book, but has a terrible time trying to get her mother with her.
3

In North Korea, the famine got so bad to the point that women started leaving their jobs
and tried to start their own business. They would set up little stands and sell whatever
food they could.
4

The Kim dynasty in NK is seen as the same as God. In North Korea, people are
oppressed and arent allowed to praise anything or anyone beside their beloved Great
General. Their Great General was Kim il-sung, but after his passing his son became
the next leader.
5

Newspaper would have similar stories of heroism when a friend or sibling would tell
the authorities on a traitor. For example, kids would be praised if they told their parents
for the things they were saying about the government.
6