→OCTOBER 2019| The Australian Women’s Weekly 65
Investigation
Kim Jong-un’s North Korea speakexclusivelywithPaolaTotaroinLondon.
Escape
from the
hermit
kingdom
A womanona train
inPyongyang,where
individualexpression
is forbidden,and
defectorsfear
reprisalsagainst
families left behind.I
t is a bleakandblusterySundayinNewMalden,a quietsuburb
in London’ssouth-west.Onthehighstreet,membersofa local
churchchoirarehunchedagainstthecold,bravelybeltingout
hymnsasplasticbagswheelandwhirlaroundthem,buffeted
bythechillygusts.Despitebeingnestledintheheartofone
ofLondon’smostancientboroughs,a stone’sthrowfrom
HenryVIII’sopulentHamptonCourtPalace,NewMaldenis a
sprawlofmodest19thcenturyterraces.
Yetlookcloserat theflurryofillegiblestreetsigns,the“Little
Seoul”supermarketsandbulgogi(Koreanbarbecue)restaurants.
Payattentiontothechoristers’accentsastheysingHallelujahand
it becomesapparentthatNewMaldenis notjustanysuburbin
London’sHomeCounties,butthethrivingepicentreofthebiggest
Koreanexpatriatecommunityin Europe.
Today,morethan10,000residents,nearlyone-thirdofthesuburb,
areKorean,amongthemanestimated 700 NorthKoreandefectors
who live quietly under the radar after risking their lives to flee the