N. Korean defector couples tie the knot in Seoul

N. Korean defector couples tie the knot in Seoul

Bo-Mi Lim, Associated Press, Seoul

Kim hardly slept overnight, her mind filled with grim memories of
her communist homeland and excitement over her new life.

"Who would have imagined that I would get married in South
Korea, and in a dress too?" said Kim.

Kim, who arrived in the South last year, was among several
North Korean defectors -- five couples in all -- who tied the
knot on Saturday at a Christian church in Seoul. For them, the
wedding opened a new chapter in their hard-earned life in
democratic South Korea.

The couples -- like most defectors from the totalitarian
regime, refused to disclose more than their last names for fear
of retaliation against their relatives -- have been living
together but could not afford weddings. So a group ceremony was
organized by the Seoul Presbyterian Church of Resurrection and
Dongposarang, a civic organization helping North Korean
defectors.

Kim and her groom, Park, met after they fled separately from
North Korea. The hardships they experienced before reaching South
Korea drew them together.

Most North Koreans in the South end up marrying each other,
unable to find South Korean spouses. After five decades of
separation since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, the two
Koreas grew widely apart in their economic wealth, political
system and even linguistic accents.

"We feel more comfortable with people like ourselves," Park
said. "We share a similar past and background."

At the church, there were more empty seats than occupied.
Alone in the South, the brides and grooms had few friends and
relatives to invite. Most of the guests were officials affiliated
with the organizers.

"You are the people with the great courage to escape even at
the risk of death," said Woo Yoon-keun, head of Dongposarang,
told the newlyweds lined up before the dais. "South Korea is a
land of freedom and opportunity and I hope you can all start new
lives with big hope."

Nearly 1,900 North Koreans defected to the South last year --
an increase of nearly 50 percent from the year before -- to
escape hunger and political repression in their homeland. With
the border with South Korea sealed with mine fields and wired
fences, most come through China and other Asian countries such as
Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

Kim said a white Western-style wedding dress and a honeymoon
were unthinkable in North Korea. In her hard-line communist
homeland, only small gatherings of family members were allowed to
gather and wish well for the bride and groom, who usually dressed
in traditional Korean costumes.

Later on Saturday, the couples headed for the southern resort
island of Jeju for their honeymoon.

"I just wish my parents and family were here with me today to
celebrate," Kim said, fighting back tears welling up in her eyes.
"It would have been so much more meaningful."