Kim Hyon Hui
Encyclopedia
Kim Hyun-Hui is a former North Korea
n operative responsible for the Korean Air Flight 858
bombing in 1987, which killed 115 people.
. Her father was a career diplomat and as a result, the family lived in Cuba
for some time. Kim excelled as a student and in after-school activities.
She was originally trained as an actress, and starred in North Korea's first Technicolor
film, playing a girl whose family fled to the North to escape poverty in South Korea (as North Koreans are taught that South Koreans live in extreme poverty). In 1972, due to her family connections, she was selected to present flowers to the senior South Korean delegate at the North-South talks in Pyongyang. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the Pyongyang Foreign Language College, where she studied Japanese
. However, she had barely begun her studies when she was tapped for espionage
work.
. There, Kim spent seven years learning tradecraft.
Her training included martial arts
, physical fitness
, and three years of Japanese.
Kim's Japanese instructor was Yaeko Taguchi
, one of many Japanese kidnapped by North Korea
. Later, Kim testified that Taguchi was known to her as Lee Eun-hye (李恩惠, 리은혜).
Additionally, students at this facility were shown propaganda
films. At the end of her training, Kim was rigorously tested. Part of her final exam required her to infiltrate and steal documents from a mock embassy.
Kim spent time in China
studying Chinese and was allowed to travel through Europe
with an older man, known to her as Kim Seung Il (金勝一). This was part of her extensive preparation to complete a mission that was of great importance to the ruling Kim family. Her younger brother had died and her sister, who had married, was now a widow. The two lived in Macau
for a time, where they used Zokwang Trading
as a base of operations.
. Handwritten, that is..." She was told that if she was successful, she would be able to return and live with her family and would not have to work as an agent afterward. She was once again paired with Kim Seung Il who was recovering from an operation to his stomach.
She was traveling with a fake Japanese passport under the name of along with Kim Seung Il, who posed as her father and used the name . The two traveled through Europe
and eventually met other North Korean agents in Budapest
who provided them with the materials to complete their mission. Once they had left the bomb behind (hidden in a radio device
) in a luggage rack of KAL 858, Kim Hyon Hui and Kim Seung Il disembarked in Abu Dhabi
and traveled to Bahrain
. The two terrorists were apprehended in Bahrain after investigators discovered that their passports were fake. Kim Seung Il bit a cyanide
pill that was hidden in a cigarette and died. Kim Hyun Hui unsuccessfully attempted to do the same, but a Bahraini policewoman snatched the cigarette out of her mouth just as she started to ingest the poison. She was hospitalized and then later interrogated.
At first, she insisted that her name was Pai Chui Hui, an orphan from Northern China
who had met an elderly Japanese man with whom she was traveling. She denied any sexual involvement with her partner Kim Seung Il. However, her accent also did not sound like she came from northern China. After Bahrain was convinced she was actually a North Korean, she was flown to Seoul
under heavy guard.
According to testimony at a United Nations Security Council
meeting, Kim was taken on several occasions to see the prosperity of Seoul
outside of her prison cell. She had been taught that the South was a corruption-riddled fief of the United States
, and poverty was widespread. She'd also been told that if she were ever captured, she'd be subject to hideous torture. However, her captors treated her with great sympathy.
For eight days, Kim insisted that she was a Chinese native living in Japan. However, after realizing that all she'd been taught about South Korea was a lie, she broke down, admitted that she was in fact North Korean and confessed the details of her role in the bombing of Flight 858, as well as Kim Jong-il's personal involvement in the scheme.
(1990) which directed by Shin Sang-ok who was also kidnapped victim like her teacher
For her role in the bombing of KAL 858, Kim Hyun Hui was sentenced to death in March 1989. However, South Korean president Roh Tae-woo
pardoned her, taking the view Kim was merely a brainwashed victim of the real culprit, the North Korean government. She later wrote an autobiography entitled The Tears of My Soul
and donated the proceeds to the families of the victims of Flight 858.
In an interview with Washington Post correspondent Don Oberdorfer, Kim said that she'd been led to believe the bombing was necessary to aid the cause of reuniting the peninsula. However, the sight of Seoul's prosperity made her realize she'd "committed the crime of killing compatriots."
Publishers Weekly
, in its 1992 review of the book Shoot the Women First
by Eileen MacDonald, described Kim as "robot-like" and "wholly submissive to male authority".
Kim Hyun Hui lives in an undisclosed location and remains under constant protection for fear of reprisals, from either victims' families or the North Korean government which has branded her a traitor. She has become a devout born-again Christian.
In December 1997, Kim married a former South Korean intelligence agent who also served as her bodyguard.
In March 2009, when meeting family members of Yaeko Taguchi
, she mentioned that Taguchi may still be alive, and in connection with this she visited Japan in July 2010. After the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, she donated 1 million yen (S$15,600) to the victims, out of gratitude for the preferential treatment she had received in Japan during her previous visit.
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n operative responsible for the Korean Air Flight 858
Korean Air Flight 858
Korean Air Flight 858 was a scheduled international passenger flight between Baghdad, Iraq, and Seoul, South Korea that exploded in mid-air on 29 November 1987 after two North Korean agents planted a bomb in the passenger cabin...
bombing in 1987, which killed 115 people.
Early life
Kim Hyun Hui was born in KaesongKaesong
Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...
. Her father was a career diplomat and as a result, the family lived in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
for some time. Kim excelled as a student and in after-school activities.
She was originally trained as an actress, and starred in North Korea's first Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
film, playing a girl whose family fled to the North to escape poverty in South Korea (as North Koreans are taught that South Koreans live in extreme poverty). In 1972, due to her family connections, she was selected to present flowers to the senior South Korean delegate at the North-South talks in Pyongyang. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the Pyongyang Foreign Language College, where she studied Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. However, she had barely begun her studies when she was tapped for espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
work.
Training
Soon after joining the North Korean spy agency, Kim was given a new name, Ok Hwa and sent to live in a compound outside of PyongyangPyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
. There, Kim spent seven years learning tradecraft.
Her training included martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, physical fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
, and three years of Japanese.
Kim's Japanese instructor was Yaeko Taguchi
Yaeko Taguchi
Yaeko Taguchi is a Japanese citizen, one of several kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s.Taguchi worked as a bar hostess in Tokyo to raise her two children: a one year old son and three year old daughter, after divorcing her husband...
, one of many Japanese kidnapped by North Korea
North Korean abductions of Japanese
The abductions of Japanese citizens from Japan by agents of the North Korean government happened during a period of six years from 1977 to 1983. Although only 17 Japanese are officially recognized by the Japanese government as having been abducted, there may have been as many as 70 to 80...
. Later, Kim testified that Taguchi was known to her as Lee Eun-hye (李恩惠, 리은혜).
Additionally, students at this facility were shown propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
films. At the end of her training, Kim was rigorously tested. Part of her final exam required her to infiltrate and steal documents from a mock embassy.
Kim spent time in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
studying Chinese and was allowed to travel through Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with an older man, known to her as Kim Seung Il (金勝一). This was part of her extensive preparation to complete a mission that was of great importance to the ruling Kim family. Her younger brother had died and her sister, who had married, was now a widow. The two lived in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
for a time, where they used Zokwang Trading
Zokwang Trading
Zokwang Trading Company is a North Korean state-run import-export business based in Zhuhai, China. It is reportedly controlled by Room 39, a secret department of the government of North Korea....
as a base of operations.
Korean Air Flight 858
In 1987, Kim was given an assignment to blow up KAL 858. She was told that the order came directly from the "Dear Leader himself, Kim Jong-IlKim Jong-il
Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
. Handwritten, that is..." She was told that if she was successful, she would be able to return and live with her family and would not have to work as an agent afterward. She was once again paired with Kim Seung Il who was recovering from an operation to his stomach.
She was traveling with a fake Japanese passport under the name of along with Kim Seung Il, who posed as her father and used the name . The two traveled through Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and eventually met other North Korean agents in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
who provided them with the materials to complete their mission. Once they had left the bomb behind (hidden in a radio device
Receiver (radio)
A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...
) in a luggage rack of KAL 858, Kim Hyon Hui and Kim Seung Il disembarked in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
and traveled to Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. The two terrorists were apprehended in Bahrain after investigators discovered that their passports were fake. Kim Seung Il bit a cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
pill that was hidden in a cigarette and died. Kim Hyun Hui unsuccessfully attempted to do the same, but a Bahraini policewoman snatched the cigarette out of her mouth just as she started to ingest the poison. She was hospitalized and then later interrogated.
At first, she insisted that her name was Pai Chui Hui, an orphan from Northern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
who had met an elderly Japanese man with whom she was traveling. She denied any sexual involvement with her partner Kim Seung Il. However, her accent also did not sound like she came from northern China. After Bahrain was convinced she was actually a North Korean, she was flown to Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
under heavy guard.
According to testimony at a United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
meeting, Kim was taken on several occasions to see the prosperity of Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
outside of her prison cell. She had been taught that the South was a corruption-riddled fief of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and poverty was widespread. She'd also been told that if she were ever captured, she'd be subject to hideous torture. However, her captors treated her with great sympathy.
For eight days, Kim insisted that she was a Chinese native living in Japan. However, after realizing that all she'd been taught about South Korea was a lie, she broke down, admitted that she was in fact North Korean and confessed the details of her role in the bombing of Flight 858, as well as Kim Jong-il's personal involvement in the scheme.
Aftermath
In 1990 Her life was turned movie MayumiMayumi (film)
Mayumi is a 1990 South Korean film directed by Shin Sang-ok.-Plot:Two North Koreans carrying Japanese passports bearing the names "Shin Ichi" and "Ma Yumi" plan to explode a Seoul-bound plane in mid-air. They are diverted to another plane after they have planted the bomb. When the plane crashes,...
(1990) which directed by Shin Sang-ok who was also kidnapped victim like her teacher
For her role in the bombing of KAL 858, Kim Hyun Hui was sentenced to death in March 1989. However, South Korean president Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo , is a former ROK Army general and politician. He was the 13th president of South Korea .Roh befriended Chun Doo-hwan while in high school in Daegu. In his younger life, Roh was a keen rugby union player....
pardoned her, taking the view Kim was merely a brainwashed victim of the real culprit, the North Korean government. She later wrote an autobiography entitled The Tears of My Soul
The Tears of My Soul
The Tears of My Soul is the memoir of Kim Hyun Hui, the North Korean espionage agent who in 1987 carried out the mission to blow up Korean Air Flight 858. Kim Hyun Hui tells the story of how she was trained as a North Korean espionage agent and selected to carry out the mission given by Kim...
and donated the proceeds to the families of the victims of Flight 858.
In an interview with Washington Post correspondent Don Oberdorfer, Kim said that she'd been led to believe the bombing was necessary to aid the cause of reuniting the peninsula. However, the sight of Seoul's prosperity made her realize she'd "committed the crime of killing compatriots."
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, in its 1992 review of the book Shoot the Women First
Shoot the Women First
Shoot the Women First is a 1991 book by Eileen MacDonald.The book, a collection of interviews, is based on the author's encounters with female terrorists. Her book analyzes the subjects, their reasons, and their modus operandi...
by Eileen MacDonald, described Kim as "robot-like" and "wholly submissive to male authority".
Kim Hyun Hui lives in an undisclosed location and remains under constant protection for fear of reprisals, from either victims' families or the North Korean government which has branded her a traitor. She has become a devout born-again Christian.
In December 1997, Kim married a former South Korean intelligence agent who also served as her bodyguard.
In March 2009, when meeting family members of Yaeko Taguchi
Yaeko Taguchi
Yaeko Taguchi is a Japanese citizen, one of several kidnapped by North Korea in the late 1970s and early 1980s.Taguchi worked as a bar hostess in Tokyo to raise her two children: a one year old son and three year old daughter, after divorcing her husband...
, she mentioned that Taguchi may still be alive, and in connection with this she visited Japan in July 2010. After the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, she donated 1 million yen (S$15,600) to the victims, out of gratitude for the preferential treatment she had received in Japan during her previous visit.
