Christmas has just passed and most of us are either rejoicing over the gifts we've received or are grumpily wishing for better luck next year. How many of us realize how special we are to be on Santa's list at all? After all, it isn’t every country that Santa visits to treat to a barrage of presents. 

The economic conditions of North Korea preclude the seasonal exchange of lavish gifts, except, perhaps, between those at the top of the social hierarchy. The rest of the populace has no choice but to make do with scraps, and attempt to survive.  The very worst off are homeless, hopeless, and helpless.  While we think about the future in terms of years, decades even, they think about it in terms of next meals and hours to frigid sunset (and the death it often brings with it). These people are mainly children. They are the “kotjebi” and thousands, if not more, roam the streets of North Korea.

When North Korea was severely hit by famine in the late 1990s, there was a drastic increase in the number of defectors, both old and young, who crossed the treacherous Tumen River into China in hopes of finding something to eat. Children would go around begging for food from the tourists and locals, but to little avail. Many had to resort to eating garbage, or if none was available, grass and dirt.

The destitute children of North Korea are hard to call to mind in our culture of plenty. “Kotjebi” translates literally as flower (“kot”) and swallow (“jebi”), and yet unlike flowers, many of these children are never afforded the chance to grow up, to spread their petals, and to add their full beauty to the world. Instead, many of them are forced to remain low to the ground, eating the trash there, until they are too weak even to forage, at which point they are added to the ground for good. 

The mirth of the holiday season should not make us forget the less fortunate. If we have the means of helping them, let us do so; if we cannot, then let us temper our celebrations with a little humility, and remind ourselves the most meaningful lives are those lived on behalf of others.

By Junho Oh

References

Mkdays. Mkdays "The Life of kotjebi Children". 05 September 2008. 28 December 2010 <http://www.mkdays.com/bbs/board.php?bo_table=02_2&wr_id=21&page=3>.

Wikipedia. Kotjebi. 31 October 2010. 27 December 2010 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotjebi>.