Ms. Baek, Heilongjiang province, born in 1974:
We crossed the Tumen river and, and after walking all night,
arrived in Yanji. As soon as I arrived in Yanji, I was turned over to
an ethnic Korean man in his 40s. I shouted at the couple who had
convinced me to go, accusing them of lying and selling me off ... After
one week, I was taken to Heilongjiang province by train. My current
husband’s sister came to pick me up. It was then that I learned that my
husband had paid 3,000 yuan for me.
Ms. Lee, Heilongjiang province, born in 1962:
One
day in January 2002, a Korean-Chinese man came and stayed with us for
20 days. When he heard I was selling clothes, he said I could make a
lot of money if I went to China and sold clothes there. Without telling
my husband and my son, I decided to follow him to the train station in
Onsong to leave for China. As we were standing near the railroad, he
gave me something to eat and some water. These must have been drugged,
because after I had them, I lost consciousness. When I awoke, I found
myself in a house on the Chinese side of the border.
Ms. Lee, Heilongjiang province, born in 1971:
I
was deceived by a North Korean woman who later turned out to be a
trafficker. She told me she would find a decent job in China for me. We
crossed the border together and she took me to a house near the Tumen
River. After staying in the city of Tumen in Yanbian for one week, I
was sold to a Han Chinese man in Qitaihe in Heilongjiang province for
the price of 1,000 yuan.
Ms. Han, Heilongjiang province, born in 1966:
My
son and daughter died when they were 13 and nine years old,
respectively, which made me despair of my whole life in North Korea.
One day, a North Korean man in our village approached me and asked me
if I wanted to go to China to find a new life. I agreed and followed
him. There were two other women when we crossed the border. Later I
found out that the man was a trafficker ... They were going to sell us
to Chinese men in Heilongjiang province as brides.
Ms. Lee, Heilongjiang province, born in 1973:
My
parents died of starvation and my two younger brothers were killed by
robbers in North Korea. After I lost all my family members, I was left
wandering in the countryside all by myself. One day, I met a North
Korean couple who looked a little bit younger than me. In November 1999,
they suggested I go to China with them. As soon as we arrived in Helong
and went into the house where they took me, I was taken to Longjing and
then to Yanji by the ethnic Koreans. From Yanji I was taken to
Mudanjiang in Heilongjiang province by train. When we arrived in
Mudanjiang, the brother of my current father-in-law was waiting for us.
I was then taken to Jidong in Heilongjiang where I live with an ethnic
Korean man. I have been told that my current husband paid 10,000 yuan
for me.
Ms. Lee, Heilongjiang province, born in 1962:
After
I was sold to Chinese men several times, I was finally introduced to an
ethnic Korean man with whom I have been living since 2003. He was 45
years old and had a 19-year-old daughter from his previous wife. As
soon as we began to live together, the man asked me to have a
sterilization operation, saying it would be too embarrassing for him if
I became pregnant because he was an old man. I had the operation at the
hospital in the city. I have since had another operation due to an
infection in that part of my body. I learned only after the operation
that there are many other ways to avoid pregnancy. I wish I had not had
the operation because I am still suffering from the consequences.
Ms. Seok, Jilin province, born in 1980:
After
I ran away from the house of one Han Chinese man who often beat me, I was introduced to another Han Chinese man to live with in
2000. After moving in with the second man, I realized that I was
pregnant from the previous one. When my current husband and his family
members found out, they asked me to get an abortion. Even though I
was already eight months pregnant, I was made to go through an
operation at the hospital. I even saw the dead face of my baby when it
was taken out of my womb.
