12/4/17- Ashton Benn- Escaped Soldier

A North Korean soldier flees across the border in a dramatic, yet heartbreaking way, as his fellow comrades shoot at him. The 24 year old soldier lost nearly half his blood as he fought for his life. He now recovers from this brutal situation in a South Korean hospital where he needs frequent treatment. The firing soldiers have violated the Korean War armistice and the UN has notified the country and requested a meeting to discuss terms, but there has been no reply. There are play by play video actions of the event taking place, and you can see where four North Korean soldiers chase after the fleeing man firing more than 40 bullets. The injured man then takes refuge behind the South Korean side of the DMZ where 3 men come to his aid in attempt to revive him. The North Koreans briefly cross the border, but then retreat back behind their territory. He was given multiple surgeries to try to fix the four major wounded areas, but what his surgeon could not fix was the 27 centimeter long parasites found in his intestines which are results from poor nutrition in the North Korean military. Oh (the soldier) enjoys listening to western style music and watching CSI on the television. He is stable now and hopefully will stay that way.

At first when I read this story I was not very intrigued, but on deeper reading I found it very interesting that the conditions of this country were so bad that a man felt forced to flee, risking death. I relate this to the Irish Immigrants fleeing Ireland and trying to find a better life in America. Granted the situations are very different, they still have the same underlying meaning which is that life became too unbearable, so brave souls pushed through the hardships in search for a happier lifestyle.