Nothing to Envy

Mrs. Song uses bribery to get Oak-hee out of prison. At home, Oak-hee tells the neighbors about what a paradise China is. Mrs. Song worries about her vocal condemnation of their nation, and the two often fight. Oak-hee leaves again, and then sends word to her mother that she has money to repay the bribes that got her out of jail, if Mrs. Song can come to China to get it. When Mrs. Song arrives, she learns that Oak-hee is in South Korea. She is furious, but the amenities in China—appliances, sufficient food, many cars—impress her. Hearing the chirp of a rice cooker, she is convinced that she should see the rest of the world—and Korea—for herself, and she resolves to defect at the age of fifty-seven. 

This chapter explains that North Koreans are automatically granted South Korean citizenship—but only if they can get to the country, or a neighboring nation with a South Korean embassy that accepts North Korean refugees. One cannot go to the embassies in China, for example, and have his or her request for asylum upheld. Mrs. Song flies to South Korea with a fake passport, and at the airport, requests asylum. She spends three-months at Hanowan, a halfway house and training campus that teaches North Koreans to live in South Korea. She is given $20,000, and begins working as a housekeeper. We learn that Oak-hee’s integration is more difficult than her mother’s; she lost much of her relocation money to the men who transported her over the border, and spends significant amounts of money to bring over her mother and sisters. She works recruiting girls for a karaoke bar; Demick implies that she may in fact be recruiting North Korean women as prostitutes for South Korean men. Oak-hee feels tremendous guilt at leaving her children behind.