A North Korean soldier who made a daring dash across the South Korean border earlier this month is a “nice guy” who loves American films and TV shows, according to the surgeon treating him.
John Cook-Jong Lee told Reuters this week that the defector, a 24-year-old soldier known only as “Oh”, is recovering from serious bullet wounds after fellow North Korean soldiers shot at him as he fled to the South.
“Two major surgeries were required to remove the bullets and patch Oh back together”, The Guardian reports. Doctors needed almost 12 litres of blood transfusions to save him - enough to replace all his blood twice.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“He told me that he is so thankful for South Koreans for saving his life and giving him that much blood,” Lee said, before adding that Oh had admitted to liking Western films, TV shows and music, something severely frowned upon in his home country.
Oh revealed his fondness for the action thriller Transporter 3, religious comedy Bruce Almighty and the mystery TV drama series CSI, Lee recounted.
Lee said he had not shown Oh any news coverage regarding his defection.
Oh may receive South Korea's welfare plan for North Korean defectors, under which the government provides seven million won (£4,800) in cash over a year, as well as support in housing, education and job training, The Guardian adds.
The South Korean and US soldiers who led a rescue attempt to drag the Oh to safety after he was badly wounded have been awarded medals, Reuters reports.
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purgeCartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Codeword: August 23, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resortUnder the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
North Korea's army of fake IT workersThe Explainer Using AI and stolen information to craft false identities, they are becoming an 'increasing menace' to top tech companies in the US and UK
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
