Lee Woong-pyeong, a defector who risked everything to come to South Korea dreaming of freedom.
On the September 3 broadcast of the SBS program "Tails of Tales," the story of defector Lee Woong-pyeong was spotlighted under the subtitle "Turn the Rudder Toward Freedom."
On February 25, 1983, air raid sirens wailed across Seoul and Gyeonggi Province as a North Korean fighter jet crossed into South Korean airspace.
Amid the sudden tension, the North Korean fighter jet shook its control stick from side to side, signaling that it would follow the instructions of the South Korean military and asking not to be attacked.
The North Korean jet ultimately landed at the Suwon Air Base. Moments later, the canopy opened, and the pilot inside raised both hands and revealed himself. He then said, "Please make sure I am not shot. I have a lot to say."
The person who had crossed the line of death putting his life on the line was North Korean air force pilot Lee Woong-pyeong. He stated that North Korea was preparing for another invasion of the South and that he was making these revelations to prevent a war.
Although there were suspicions that he might be a disguised spy regarding his intention to defect, he disclosed top-secret military information and handed over the MiG-19 jet he had flown to the government.
In response, the government gave him a record-high reward of 1.56 billion won. At the time, this was enough money to buy 78 Eunma Apartments.
In addition, in recognition of his experience and contributions in North Korea, he was appointed as an air force major, and a grand commissioning ceremony was held for him.
Lee Woong-pyeong was flooded with schedules as an anti-communist icon. He came from a top 1 percent elite family in North Korea and was born as the eldest grandson of a family where male heirs were rare.
However, after circumstances arose showing that a relative had gone to the South, his father was purged. Hearing his father's parting words, "Our family is finished now. If you stay here, there is no telling what will happen to your future. Find your own way to survive," he felt the injustice of the regime and decided to defect. Yet, even after coming to the South in search of freedom, he continued to deeply miss the family he left behind in the North.
As his life in South Korea continued, Lee Woong-pyeong fell in love with Sun-young, the daughter of an Air Force College professor who served as his private tutor. Wanting to approach Sun-young, who was quite a bit younger, he repeatedly contacted her under the pretext of asking for introductions.
Later, to win permission from Sun-young's parents, Lee Woong-pyeong endured hours in the pouring rain, declaring, "I feel like it has to be this person." Eventually, they got married just four months after meeting.
However, Lee Woong-pyeong had to live in constant anxiety due to fears of assassination and terror. For their safety, the couple began their newlyweds life in an Air Force official residence.
Then one day, Sun-young discovered a listening device installed in their home. They were facing North Korean terror from the outside and government surveillance from the inside. In response, Sun-young ripped out all the wiretapping cables and went to meet the Defense Security Commander.
Sun-young stated that she wanted a divorce, saying, "I cannot live like this. Please make it so that we are getting a divorce because I don't like him." The Defense Security Command and the NSP, who had welcomed the two people's marriage, asked what the problem was.
Sun-young replied, "Let us live outside, even if it is just for a day. What are you going to do? Will you let us move out, or will we get a divorce right now?" She also suggested to her husband, "Getting shot and killed while walking outside? That is fate. Instead, let's live comfortably even if it's just for a single hour," proposing that they leave the Air Force residence.
The couple eventually moved to a private apartment, where they gave birth to two children and spent happy days. However, Lee Woong-pyeong was still constantly busy. He would go out of contact for days and repeatedly reappear out of nowhere.
Hoping that many compatriots would defect, Lee Woong-pyeong always took the lead whenever a matter related to North Korea arose.
Later becoming an Air Force College professor and being promoted to colonel, Lee Woong-pyeong began living alone in Daejeon, where the Air Force College was located.
In November 1997, Lee Woong-pyeong collapsed due to liver cirrhosis caused by hepatitis B. The hospital even told Sun-young to look into the National Cemetery.
However, fueled by the single thought that she had to save her husband and never thinking that he would die, Sun-young did everything she could to keep him alive.
Having received a suggestion for a liver transplant, which was just being introduced at the time, Sun-young even contacted illegal flyers arranging organ sales to find a donor. After waiting with such desperate feelings, a donor finally appeared.
However, because the donor was a woman, the success rate of the surgery was only 20 percent. Sun-young agreed to the surgery, saying that it would be good enough if he could just prolong his life, and the surgery began.
After 15 hours that felt like a month, the surgery ended, and Lee Woong-pyeong was moved to a sterile room. Sun-young and her family devotedly nursed him, and he was finally able to return home on Christmas Eve.
Having recovered his health, Lee Woong-pyeong would occasionally go to Imjingak with a friend to swallow his longing for his hometown. Then one day, noticing strange behaviors, Lee Woong-pyeong even grew suspicious of Sun-young. At one point, he went out of contact, prompting Sun-young to ask the authorities for help. Lee Woong-pyeong was subsequently transported to the hospital.
One day, he told Sun-young, "I want to eat the mul-kimchi you made," causing Sun-young to rush straight home. However, upon receiving a phone call from the hospital, she returned there immediately.
Suffering while vomiting blood, Lee Woong-pyeong asked for just a bottle of water. After finishing the entire bottle, he asked Sun-young to come closer.
He closed his eyes after leaving a request to raise the children well, saying, "You had a really hard time because of me. You went through so much needless hardship, and I am grateful."
Reflecting on this, Sun-young calmly said, "I came to understand that the cold behaviors he showed before leaving were all probably attempts to make me detach my affection."
She added, "Before he passed away, he heard the news that his older sister was suffering in a political prisoner camp. Hearing that all the family members had died, he went into shock," expressing her belief that he likely passed away because he could not overcome that shock.
Lee Woong-pyeong did not use a single penny of the reward given by the government, intending to use it for the family left behind in the North once reunification occurs. Although he came to South Korea in search of freedom, Lee Woong-pyeong lived his whole life in anxiety. Perhaps now that he has passed away, he has finally become truly free.
Lastly, his wife Sun-young drew attention by saying that her husband had lived a truly difficult life, but she hopes his life nevertheless served as a help and resonance to someone.
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