On Wednesday, officials approved visas for Jonathan Lee and his parents to travel to North Korea from China. They will leave for Pyongyang from Beijing on Thursday with the hopes of meeting with the notoriously harsh leader Kim Jong Il.
Barely creeping out of adolescence, Lee, who was born in South Korea and now lives in Mississippi, wants to pitch a Children’s Peace Forest in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the North and South. His desire is to see an area for children to play together amongst fruit and chestnut trees.
Being from South Korea and America, neither favorable in North Korea’s eyes, his parents are understandably hesitant about the trip. ”We know, it sounds crazy,” said Lee’s mother, Melissa, according to the Associated Press. “When he first said, ‘I think we need to go to North Korea,’ I looked at my husband and said, ‘What?’ It was a radical idea.”
His father, Hyoung Lee, agreed. ”When growing up, I was always taught, don’t talk to or associate with any North Korean people, so this is kind of shocking for me that my son wants to go in.”
Nevertheless, they are supporting their son’s desire to bring all Korean children together in peace.
Reports show that Lee had already approached former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung a few years back about planting chestnut trees along the Korean peninsula. He met with the leader again last year to talk about Kim Dae-jung’s “sunshine policy” through which he hoped for a peaceful coexistence between people of the North and South.
In the letter that Lee hopes to deliver to Kim Jong Il, he expresses this wish of the now deceased Kim Dae-jung.
In a country that imprisons foreigners for everything from vague unsanctioned religious or political activity to associating with the locals, this trip seems to stir up more stress than high expectations. In the end, it all rides on hope, and that the good intentions of a brave young man will somehow touch Kim Jong Il.
Photo by Johannes Barre via Wikipedia Commons.