The video “I Brought a North Korean to South Korea” takes us on a fascinating journey with Drew Binsky and a North Korean refugee named Munho. Munho escaped from North Korea, leaving his family behind, and found asylum in Thailand. This video captures Munho’s first visit to South Korea, where he explores the similarities and differences between the two Koreas with Drew.
From exploring a bustling fish market to trying North Korean comfort food in a restaurant, the video showcases Munho’s raw and emotional reactions to the sights and experiences in South Korea. The duo shares moments of adventure, reflection, and shared humanity, proving that despite their different backgrounds, they are connected by a shared love for Korean culture.
The video also delves into Munho’s harrowing escape story, shedding light on the challenges and sacrifices he made to seek freedom and a better life. Munho’s candid sharing of his personal journey adds a deeply human element to the video, making it a powerful and moving experience for viewers.
Through their interactions and conversations, Drew and Munho highlight the importance of empathy, understanding, and the pursuit of freedom and happiness. The video serves as a compelling reminder of the resilience and courage of individuals like Munho who dare to chase their dreams and break free from oppressive situations.
Overall, “I Brought a North Korean to South Korea” is a touching and eye-opening video that offers a glimpse into the lives and stories of those affected by the division between North and South Korea. It celebrates the power of connection, friendship, and the shared love for culture that transcends borders and differences.
Watch the video by Drew Binsky
Hi I’m moonho I’m from North Korea I escaped here when I was 26 years old I invited moonho to visit my former Hometown in South Korea to see how it compares to his hometown in the north let’s go to Soul let’s go to Soul this story is a compelling one because moonho
Is going to share his Escape story publicly for the very first time he left his entire family behind and crossed a treacherous land border into China trekking all the way to Thailand where he searched for Asylum from Kim Jong-un in this video I want to take moonho
Around Soul where I lived and taught English for 2 years what does a North Korean Refugee think about South Korea are the two countries similar or totally different I’m ready to capture his raw emotion in this crazy Korean Adventure going to South Korea with a North Korean this is this is
Fun first time on a plane do you know that my friend is from North Korea North Korea yeah really yeah and your H face is like seriously he is you don’t believe me it’s going to be below freezing and soul so getting our jackets on now it’s got to get
Warm are you nervous to go through immigration what if they catch you and they know you’re from North Korea thank you tell me down bro you made it yeah dude welcome to South Korea it feels so great to be back and soul one of the world’s most buzzing
Cities before I ask moonho about his childhood in North Korea and how he escaped I want to break the ice by taking him to my favorite fish market for breakfast are you hungry yeah yeah let’s go so as you can see it’s so big in here there’s so many different rows
Of fresh fish smells like an ocean this fish market is the oldest and largest SE Food Market in Korea housing 700 vendors who sell more than 300 tons of seafood every day that was brutal he just stabbed him in the eye that was insane do you like
It like me oh he bites you really bro be careful man it’s okay bro look at this one W look he’s smiling do you have a place like this in North Korea yeah not not this big but very small and kind behind us she’s cutting up some live
Octopus but she she’s cutting it in pieces we should try it this is what I ate before a little smaller I put my hand in here and I ate it in one bite you know what I’ll show you the video it’s like my first ever YouTube video live octopus in
Korea okay go go go yeah my friends threw up were you chewing yeah I chewed it for 20 minutes man this lady just rolled up with a bucket of fresh crab and she just puts it in the tank there’s so many of them fresh what kind of fish do you want to
Try king crab king crab that’s it’s my favorite can we buy some crab to oh my God you speak English that’s amazing he is from North Korea he escaped what do you think about that hi Korea oh that’s the penis fish in English spoon W it looks like a penis yeah
Finally that’s so strange feels like a penis right yeah we have just bought this amazing looking crab I’m so excited man are you excited yeah okay thank you we’re following her upstairs this is the best part of the market this is the upstairs of the fish market there’s so
Many restaurants to choose from but this lady is walking really fast and we’re just trying to catch up this is a place of live octopus it’s called sanaki so the one I ate earlier this in one bite whole yeah you dip it in the sesame
Oil oh it’s sticking to my lip it’s the strangest feeling when it’s like sticking onto your tongue grabbing so when you’re growing up you eat a lot of seafood every day no originally I thought that you’re not supposed to talk about North Korea here but the people
Don’t care it’s kind of like a stereotype thing stereotype thing yeah like you can talk about it yes I am I do our king crab has just arrived and I’m literally shaking I’m so hungry bro this is one of my favorite meals in the world king crab from this yeah king crab from
This Market you can see the steam covering the lens right now from this crab this thing was alive literally 20 minutes ago and usually in the world you can’t get it this fresh and this plentiful The Taste is one thing but the texture it’s perfect the color is
Perfect the color is perfect man everything is perfect the best part about this is when you finish the crab in the head there’s all like the the brain and they cook fried rice inside of it oh oh I think he’s too drunk oh he’s falling everywhere holy crap it’s
Literally 12:30 do you see that also in North Korea yeah people like to drink in North Korea we are Koreans that dude must have been well into his 70s and he basically couldn’t even walk out of here and everybody just keeps eating like it’s normal like nothing ever
Happened every last dude this is the best meal in for this year I agree yeah I think that was the best meal of the year now we we will continue the adventure yeah when I went to North Korea I learned that pink pong is one of the most popular sports and after moonho
Says he’s got game I’m ready to challenge him to a match we have found the ping pong room and moonho is going down I’m going to show you this person Asen [Applause] Oh [Applause] Yeah what the it wasn’t more difficult than cross the B after a crazy heated match we head outside into the freezing weather where I uncover moonho harrowing Escape story I was growing up like a very very small Countryside there’s not much people there after school we just played in the
Nature so you grew up like a normal childhood you were happy yeah my father was engineer and my mother was was a teacher when did you first know that there is a different world I lived in Aon with my four roommates and there’s a TV all white and black suddenly I I
Figured out some kind of signal from South Korea in that time we didn’t know what what is that should we stop to watching that or should we keep it but it was fun it was interesting so yeah let’s keep it it reminds me again and again there’s a world we don’t know yet
When I decide to leave there it’s because after or sester I had to go to Army and you didn’t want to go yeah I didn’t want to go because if I go there I thought there’s no chance to like explore the world and then then I moved
To like the city nearby the border between China and North Korea so you go to the Border Town I got a problem there’s a broker who trying to help me he asked me or some money to cross the border but he lied me he stole your
Money yeah kind of how old were you at this time 21 22 and how much time did you spend in this Border Town I stayed there 4 years 4 years yeah that’s the hardest time in my life so far and what happened how did you actually get across
The border eventually the broker who R me helped me to cross the border the same guy yeah after 4 years in that time I didn’t expect that much oh this time it’s going to be canceled again I thought but it happened I crossed the border the biggest challenge was the
Like family is because my family they trusted me a lot but in the time I had to decide to live should I stay there or should I move and even now it’s been how many years since you talked to your parents I was 9 years old do you think
About them every day the most difficult thing is like whenever you feel like happy or sad you’re going to reminds your family that’s the big thing there’s no way to communicate with your mom like if you want to call her you cannot email her nothing there’s no internet so we
Cannot email them what happens if you get get caught like On the Border Town that’s going to be very dangerous that’s because especially to me I’m a man you go to jail you think at least you think they would kill you yeah possible with the help of his broker moonho crossed
The land border into China eventually making his way illegally into La before arriving to his final destination Thailand all right bro it’s I got to stop you in your story cuz it’s so cold let’s go get some food real quick and we’ll learn more of it later sounds good
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Go this is a table of North Korean food that’s why it’s a home is this like a comfort food for you like does this food would make you feel like home yeah so this is awesome man this is a bowl of hot noodle soup with some spices in here
We have egg bean sprouts c l yeah you have to make sound or thank you it’s a respect to the the chef I’m kidding really really spicy really flavorful these noodles are like really uh sticky after you escaped and you made it to Bangkok that was the moment where
You felt like safe I think the moment I feel safe it’s the when I called by the like Thailand police the police how do they find you we have to find them so you just said okay I’m here we shake a hand hey when you go to the police
Station what do they say to you there’s a lot of North Korean Refugee up there so they already knew what kind of process there oh okay come we went to jail you went to jail yeah what was it like it was like vacation after a long tired like escaping Journey they give
You food yeah sure okay so then after jail what happened there was a ref Camp oh you went to a refugee camp what did you think the first time when you like look out the window and you see all the lights and all the people I thought oh my decision was
Right can you ask me where she’s from in North Korea yangang Province nearby the can you tell her that I went to pongyang and I enjoyed it okay thank you very much you said thank you very much I don’t I didn’t meet Kim Jong-un did you do you hope to meet him someday
No are you scared of him thanks to you because of you like North Korea she said even we left because of we don’t satisfy the life there but it’s still our hometown it’s time to hit the bitter cold streets after lunch moonho and I set off to explore the city we found this
Incredibly peaceful spot up by this Temple there’s a monk hitting the gong right now we have incredible views overlooking the city this is a cool moment bro any Buddhist temple that I visit in the world just always so peaceful moonho what makes you happy in life you makes me
Happy I’m not a religious person but when I’m praying you pray a lot I feel happy yeah we got to move cuz we are literally freezing Moon hose running down the stairs you’re like a movie character you’re like an actor in a movie I’m an
Actor you are an actor yeah my life is is a film I’m making fow right now I’m working on my scri right now that’s good Moon ch in the backseat of a taxi going to the next place having a chat about life what is the value of escaping I
Lost my connection with my family and my all the friends did I make mistake like that kind of feeling do you feel selfish yeah some way but I feel like I lost biggy I spent my almost my whole life in North Korea I understand the freedom is
Not free but I feel like I pay I paid too much do you think about this stuff a lot yeah sometimes when I have time we are inside a massive shopping mall called latte World Mall what do you think of it that’s too much there’s too
Many things in here I don’t even know where to look what what are we going to buy too many options if I want to sweat there’s a lot of options so I cannot choose sometimes it’s better you want to buy a sweater okay take one sweater a
Lot of sock options here how can you choose which socks to get there’s a thousand options I’m going to show you how how I choose first of all you should close your eyes and just grab okay take that one H it’s to there is a new experience in Soul that I’ve been
Wanting to do for years go to the top of the lot Tower the sixth tallest building on earth I’m taking moonho with me and I just hope he’s not scared of heights the thing is in pongyang I noticed that like there’s buildings but there’s no people
In them it’s just for showing is it true no it’s not for just showing they’re trying to do like using that but there’s no like construct like materials so they can finish the interior people couldn’t live the behind us is the tallest tower in Soul and we’re about to go to the top
Top we are getting in the elevator to go up 123 floors pong 105 there’s a lot of people in here we have just arrived at the top let’s look at the view bro wow it’s so beautiful wo bro when you step your feet it’s a glass and it goes straight down
What do you feel I like it it’s the trippiest thing ever like if you’re scared of height this is not a place for you I like it it’s kind of you like height you like tall building I don’t have any phobia fear fear dude the views of Soul are
Beautiful moo what are your goals in life make a good film about the Koreans life not North Korean not South Korean korean’s life just Korean yeah I wrote a book like about the road trip in America with the three North Korean guys that’s awesome it’s so interesting how we’re
Standing here on top of the talls building in Soul and just looking over that mountain and knowing that that is North Korea it’s the same land bro yeah we can we can smell it even the North Korea smash what do you want to say to people who they think so badly about
North Korea yeah I think uh the media tends to like Focus On the Dark Side of North Korea but they should know there’s life to to people not just the government we’re standing on the outside Sky Deck and that is the actual top right there after we take in our last
Views of the city we head underground to see how Souls Metro compares to the one in Pyongyang they always play this song to know when it arrives navigating this Metro is like a maze there’s so many stops it’s actually the world’s most extensive public transportation system connecting the most amount of land
Efficiently really yeah kyong is the deepest underground in the world and soul is the most extended this one is way more modern more light to be honest my favorite part about North Korea was the Metro oh yeah there’s a lot of like famous paintings yeah paintings and Kim
Big statues I went Pang secretly I cross the li de in that time it wasn’t normal so I didn’t think that much yeah what would you say if you saw a white person on the pyong Metro what would you think I feel like a oh very Greatful because
Someone interested in my country that’s good thing did you know English at that time in F very very remitted we’re just a couple of kids on a on a Metro just want to make a comment that my camera is in the middle of the Metro right now and there’s people everywhere
And nobody’s even bothering they’re just all looking at their phones we have entered one of my favorite districts here called Mong dong it’s like a shopping district there’s street food you want to try some street food oh yeah sure the never we’re getting some DOI which is
One of my favorite Korean street foods tell me that it’s basically like a rice cake that’s smothered in this red spicy sauce cheers bro cheers M oh my god oh yeah temperature hot and spicy hot is the dooki in North Korea the same taste or is a different taste I didn’t try
I’ve never tried oh so it’s not it’s not popular in North Korea as a snack this is called a two for one the way I described dooki is like one big piece of rice with red sauce on it spicy it’s the version of Kaki in
Rice mhm what is this this is a Tang let’s try one thank you this is sugarcoated fruit on a stick I’m going for the grape first W really sweet it’s a hard coat of sugar on the outside and then just a piece of fruit in the middle really good you get that Crunch
And that sweetness and then the burst of flavor from the fruit it’s good right leave it to the Koreans to invent some crazy things when you eat sometimes I feel like this kind of things wealthy wealthy is a good thing yeah but sometimes too too much much things I agree sometimes simple is
Simple is the best simple like life is the best what does freedom mean to you freedom is a chance to like go traveler or study whatever you want do whatever you want yeah do you think everyone in North Korea should have the chance to be free definitely yeah what I really
Admire about moonho is he left all by himself he left his family behind his friends behind because he knew of a better world out there that he really was determined to discover so many people don’t do that and I think people people watching this video will feel
Very inspired by you thank you B yeah man but you know the night is young we are going to party our off tonight it’s going to be epic we heard about a secret North Korean karaoke bar in inchon a nearby city that is the largest gathering place for North Korean
Refugees in the South to be honest bro I hate karaoke but something tells me it’s going to be fun because I’m with North Koreans it’s different hey nice to meet you nice to meet you how are you I’m sopia I’m Drew this place is so interesting it’s like a
Big communal room but you escaped when 2008 how old were you when you escaped like 1 17 you went through China yes was it scary very scary when you escaped you were by yourself no with my friend and then did you also go through Thailand of
Course do you like South Korea more than North Korea North Korea is my hometown the old lady has just sat down and joined us so now it’s a it’s a table of five North Koreans and myself when did you come to South Korea 201 which Korea do you prefer North or
South South Korea she said South Korea yes tell me about the nor the owner is North Korea they wanted to come here North Koreans and getting stress out really singing and Dancing y nice to meet you this is so bizarre I’m the only nonn North Korean person in this room right now like I didn’t even get this experience in North Korea this is way cooler this lady is like proper North Korean opera singer and apparently she was really famous there she’s really Good moo I think you should go on stage and sing a song [Applause] good job bro honestly it felt like I was tripping inside this karaoke bar then again hanging out with moonho has been a trip all by itself I still can’t imagine what he’s gone through despite growing up in completely different worlds in two countries that are considered enemies I
Feel like we are brothers we both love good food food playing ping pong and traveling around the world I am honored to help moonho share his story publicly for the first time and I’ll never forget our bitter week goodbye awesome hanging out man thank you if you enjoyed this
Video make sure to subscribe to see more Amazing Stories from every country in the world and I’ll see you guys next week
Video “I Brought a North Korean to South Korea” was uploaded on 03/16/2024. Watch all the latest Videos by Drew Binsky on Gretopia