Youngae Ma's Story

Youngae Ma is a North Korean defector who currently lives in New Jersey. She joined the North Korean army at the age of 17 and began serving her government as an “intelligence agent” near the Chinese border. Through documents, Ma gathered information about South Korean culture and “the outer world”. Unfortunately, she was arrested for eating free food offered by a Christian church. During the police ride to her trial, where she would most likely have been found guilty and hanged, Man jumped out of the car and ran for her life. She trekked through the harsh snow until she could no longer feel her legs; three of her toenails fell off leaving a bloody trail. Eventually, she arrived in Shanghai, where a South Korean Consulate General gave her a passport and safely aided her to Seoul. Ma recalled that her meal she received from the Christian church was life changing because she “felt an affection from the church community that I’ve never felt before”. Today, Ma owns a restaurant called “Youngae Ma’s Soondae”, where she is famous for her “finest sausages”. Through her business, she raises money to save other refugees; the money will be used to bribe Chinese police officers and purchase plane tickets. Ma is currently trying to save two refugees from China, whose identity she declined to reveal. In 2000, she testified to the George Bush administration the atrocities of her former government and helped pass the North Korean Human Right Act of 2004.

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