A recent graduate of Kim Il Sung University has mysteriously disappeared in North Korea’s Kujang county, sparking widespread rumors among local residents. In response, the local state security department has launched a crackdown to quell the speculation, which includes claims that the graduate was kidnapped by security agents.
According to a source in North Pyongan province recently, the person who disappeared recently was a young man who had graduated from the law department of Kim Il Sung University, having entered the school on a recommendation after completing his military service. He dreamed of becoming a public prosecutor, but his dream came to nothing after his family was “revolutionized” when his parents divorced and remarried.
Upon returning to his hometown in Kujang county after graduating from college, he was proud of being a graduate of Kim Il Sung University and believed that he would be appointed a party official one day.
But no one would even look at him, and he ended up doing odd jobs here and there while pulling a handcart to earn money, which made him bitter.
In fact, he openly complained about his circumstances, saying things like, “I gave my youth to the nation by doing my military service and graduating from the best university, but what use was it?” and “If you don’t have money or power, you’re as good as dead.” He did not hesitate to criticize the state.
People in Kujang county felt sorry for him when they saw him pulling a handcart and sympathized with his suffering because of his parents’ quarrel.
When the young man suddenly disappeared last month after appearing every day, people wondered about his whereabouts.
A rumor soon spread that a local resident had gone to a well one quiet evening to fetch water and witnessed security guards arresting the young man. This immediately sparked another rumor, that the security agents had arrested the young man because he had habitually made political statements critical of the Workers’ Party and the state and had damaged the prestige of Kim Il Sung University.