Defector Kim Seo-a reveals being a Pleasure Squad candidate from age 11

North Korean defector Kim Seo-a revealed on the MBN program "Scoop World" that she underwent a selection process for the Pleasure Squad from age 11 until she was 17. Kim, who is now pursuing acting auditions in South Korea, also shared that she was unable to reunite with her parents before their deaths due to closed borders and broker fraud.

North Korean defector and YouTuber Kim Seo-a has revealed a past in which she was selected as a candidate for the Pleasure Squad starting at age 11 and was frequently summoned to the Central Party. She confessed to undergoing repeated evaluations and interviews from a young age, reaching the final stage of a selection process that lasted until she was 17. Attention has also focused on her unique life story, as she had nurtured dreams of becoming an actress while in North Korea.

In the MBN program "Scoop World" broadcast on the 12th, the extraordinary life stories of YouTuber Kim Seo-a and comedian Choi Seong-hoon were revealed. During the broadcast, Kim showcased her Korean dance skills while attempting an acting audition. She shared her unusual background, noting she had received significant attention in North Korea as a candidate for the Pleasure Squad.

Kim stated, "From the age of 11, I was continuously selected and was constantly being called to the Central Party." She explained that she underwent various procedures, including evaluations and interviews at the Central Party, a process that continued until she was 17 years old. This represented a long-term selection process that began at a very young age.

She also provided specific details regarding the final interview she was facing. "There was one last interview left. Three of us went up together, and two of us, including myself, failed, and one person went to the Pleasure Squad," she recalled. She explained that while three people participated in the final interview, only one was selected for the Pleasure Squad, while she and one other person were rejected.

Having nurtured dreams of becoming an actress since her time in North Korea, Kim is now pursuing those ambitions by attempting acting auditions in South Korea. During the broadcast, she demonstrated the skills she has honed through Korean dance, drawing attention as her special childhood experiences in North Korea were shared alongside her current challenges.

She spoke with heartache about how she had attempted to escape North Korea first to rescue her parents, but was ultimately unable to reunite with them because the borders were closed due to COVID-19 and she was defrauded by a broker. Having only learned of her parents' deaths belatedly, she expressed a lifelong sense of guilt and longing.

Harsh fates befell her parents following Kim's defection. The parents, who were issued an expulsion order due to their daughter's defection, were driven to a coal mining village. Kim later learned that her father had passed away from a heart attack. Although she started a new life after leaving North Korea, the suffering her family endured in the process remains a deep wound for her.

The end for her mother was also tragic. Kim revealed that she learned through a broker that her mother had passed away last year after battling a cerebral thrombosis. She was unable to be present at her mother's deathbed or even exchange final greetings while she was alive, losing both parents without being able to say goodbye. The fact that her defection, which began with the intent to save her family, led to an irreversible separation has left her with deep guilt.

Kim recalled the desperation she felt at the time when she tried to help her parents escape North Korea. "I escaped first to try and make my parents escape. It wasn't easy. Because of the COVID season, all the borders of North Korea were closed. I was also defrauded. I felt like I would die if I didn't do even that," she confessed. Her plan to survive first so she could save her parents hit the reality of closed borders and broker fraud, ultimately resulting in the failure of her attempt to bring her family with her.

The self-reproach of failing to protect her family has not disappeared even after her parents' deaths. Kim confessed, "I am so gripped by guilt that there are times I feel that even crying is not being a filial daughter." Her admission that she suffers from the thought that even the moments she sheds tears for the grief of losing her parents is a failure to fulfill her duties reflects the psychological pain she has endured since her defection.

Kim stated that she last saw her parents when she was twenty-one years old. Since then, a reunion with her family never occurred, and the pain of not being able to be with her parents during their final moments remains in her heart to this day. While she gained freedom by risking her life to escape North Korea, the cost was an eternal separation from her family, a story that highlights the tragedy of family dissolution and separation experienced by defectors.

Read the original (Korean)