Off to North Korea

Yesterday we went with a group to a spot near the border of North Korea to send socks and leaflets via balloon over to the North Korean people.   

Mr. Lee, one of the leaders of the group we went with, escaped from North Korea in 2006.  His wife and two children escaped the following year.  He told us about his experiences on the bus ride.

The boxes full of socks and leaflets that we sent over.  Why socks?  They are very valuable in North Korea where winters are harsh and people often get frostbite.  Mr. Lee told us one pair of socks can be traded for enough corn to feed one person for a month.  Also, someone said that supposedly people didn’t get into trouble with the government for wearing the socks.

The boxes included a timing device.  After three hours, the bottom opened up so that the socks and leaflets would scatter.  

The balloons were filled with hydrogen.

There was a tall building with a viewing area on the roof. 

Here’s what the place looks like.  The first picture shows where we launched the balloons.  The second is looking towards North Korea. (We would estimate we were a couple of miles from North Korea).  The third is an amusement park.  

At this spot along the border, this was as close as you could get to North Korea.

And then, or course, there was the launching of the balloons.  This balloon launch was a little different because of the upcoming holiday of Chuseok.  It’s sort of like Thanksgiving, a time for people to visit their hometowns and families.  Sadly, many Koreans — North and South — are unable to go home because of the border.  The people who purchased the balloons and socks and messages for this launch were people from South Korea who had once lived, or whose parents had once lived, in North Korea.  They are unable to go home, so they wanted to send messages and gifts.