A Tale of Two IM Chats
By Edward Kim
The Sympathetic
Eddie: Hi J. Did you get a chance to visit www.chosunjournal.com yet?
J: Yeah, I did. I had no idea it was that bad in N. Korea.
Eddie: What struck you the most?
J: The Le Monde article about the boy whose toes were severed from frost bite, but who ran away anyways because he didn’t want to go back to NK. I mean, how bad must it be in a country for a boy to want to run away from it without any toes?
Eddie: I know… As one person said, how bad must a country be for hundreds of thousands of its people to want to escape to China.
J: Yeah, it’s so terrible. Keep up the great work with the site.
Eddie: Thanks.
The Compassionate
Eddie: Hey D. So did you visit www.chosunjournal.com yet?
D: Yeah. I’ve recommended the address to my friends and egroup listings. Let me know how else I can help.
Eddie: Great! Thanks. Actually, there are a number of ways you can make a difference for NK human rights. Did you check out the Get Involved section of the site?
D: Yup. It’s got some good suggestions. I followed the 7 recommendations your site mentions. i.e., I wrote to my congressman and the various UN officials about NK human rights… wrote a letter to the editor of my local newspaper (don’t think it’ll get printed though), etc. . . But I’m hesitant about sending money to some of the organizations your site lists. Sorry.
Eddie: I understand. I suggest you read the interviews we’ve done with the various NGO representatives as well as visit their sites. I think once you get to know more about these groups’ activities, you’ll be less apprehensive about supporting them financially.
D: Ok, I’ll check it out.
Eddie: Thanks.
The moral of this tale: North Korea is in need of your compassion, not your sympathy.
