Communism, kimchi & Nelia Sancho

The mind’s eye remembers the first sight of her, more than 30 years ago, alighting from a UP ikot jeepney, as every bystander turned to watch those impossibly long legs, barely covered by a miniskirt, cross the street to a campus building suddenly turned drab and rundown by those legs, those eyes and that cool and enigmatic smile of hers.

Everyone expected campus heartthrob Nelia Sancho to go on and conquer the world of glamour and fashion – and so she did, as international beauty queen, fashion model, toast of the town.

But what everyone overlooked was that like any other good UP graduate, Nelia also had a head on her shoulders and a heart that listened. Above the din of the cocktail party chatter, away from the bright lights, she heard the keening of the poor, the angry muttering of the discontented, the distant roll of war drums as the nation’s ruler prepared to wage war on his own people.

She heard, and she responded. And so, throughout the greater part of martial law, she plunged into a life on the run, moving around from one underground assignment to another, risking death day after day. It was a life of constant hardship, yet one that sooner or later was bound to end – fortunately, in Nelia’s case, not in death, but in her capture, imprisonment, and eventual return to more polite society.

Today, over lunch in the lobby of a posh midtown hotel, Nelia looks placid and matronly. Single again, with two grown children, she could have chosen to slow down and enjoy life more. However, she remains active in a variety of causes, and her remarkable hazel eyes still flash with fire when she talks of her chief passion these days, the plight of the Filipino comfort women.

On the side, she recently accepted an invitation to head the local friendship society with North Korea, which she visited last September. As I interview her about this trip, I am struck by how strongly she empathizes with the citizens of that much-reviled Stalinist state.

It is not ideological at all, simply a heartfelt compassion for a people she considers to be unjustly oppressed and persecuted – perhaps no different, in that regard, from the countless rural communities in her own country among whom she immersed in her old life as a female warrior.

Most of her positions I disagree with, and if it were anyone else I would have argued no end. But I hold my tongue instead – she is Nelia Sancho, after all. She’s paid her dues and she’s earned the right to put this interviewer in his place, for a change.

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Excerpts:

PHILIPPINE STAR: Tell us why you are now the president of the Philippine-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Friendship Society.

NELIA SANCHO: The reason for the society’s existence and my acceptance of that role is to promote friendship and understanding between the people of North Korea and Filipinos because there is not so much known about the country and I think we have to remove all barriers and the isolation of any country. It is one of the least known countries among Filipinos, although we have had diplomatic relations with them since three years ago. This is a global community that we have in this century and I don’t believe that ideology should hamper us in getting to know and interact with people from different countries.

Why should we get to know North Korea, what’s in it for us?

First of all, we can do our share of promoting world peace by understanding a country that has chosen a different system. We may not necessarily agree with or believe in that system, but the point here is that each country is sovereign and has the right to exist no matter what system they choose to improve the living standards of its people.

What was the purpose of your latest trip to North Korea?

My trip last September was for the first time as president of the Phil-Korea Friendship Society. The previous trips were for conferences that were organized in Pyongyang.

The strongest impressions of my visit to Korea were that of the great life of the people, their self-reliance and their unity. We have to see this in the context that Korea was wasted to the ground during the Korean War by the US bombing. It took them 55 years to build a new city, so whatever is there, the buildings, the housing, the factories are all new. It was a very heroic effort to construct a new city and a new life for the people.

Because we are mostly exposed to Western media, we have formed a certain view of North Korea – that it is an aggressive country. Is this correct?

The people are proud and they don’t want to become US puppets. They fought so hard for their independence against the Japanese colonizers and also against the United States because they didn’t want to be colonized or tied to the strings of the United States.

What I saw was that they would like to maintain that independence and to pursue prosperity, a space of their own to discover what is the best way, as China did, of how their system could coexist with capitalism.

With regard to being a nuclear power, I don’t think that was the aim of North Korea from the start. I think they would rather develop their country in other ways, so if at all they went to a nuclear power program, at the start, it was more for using nuclear technology for peaceful use. If they have developed nuclear capability, it was more of a deterrence against activities of any country, particularly the biggest nuclear power of all, the United States.

Korea has never invaded any country and we should always put that into the picture. They have already said that their main desire is to put aside their nuclear program, for as long as there is no hostility towards them in terms of economic investments, in terms of oil, and access to resources in the world. We should give them the chance.

You did not see any evidence of the widespread hunger in the country that we read about often?

No, I think that’s false propaganda. What I saw there was that people are up and about living their daily lives. However, it’s true that there was a famine and this was caused by the drought in the late 1990s. If you have a famine, the rest of the world has to assist, but I think North Korea didn’t get that much assistance because they have become isolated and also because of the hostility, the political history of the relationship between Korea and the US.

Were you allowed to go around, especially the countryside, unsupervised or unescorted?

Of course, we always needed to have escorts because we didn’t know how to travel by public transport. Korea has very good public transportation – they have a subway system, they have buses, they have ferry boats that would take you anywhere. However, the people – I think 99 percent or more – don’t speak any English, so naturally we needed to have guides to get around.

You were also able to attend their 55th National Day celebration. Did you get to see Kim Jong Il?

Yes. He rarely attends functions with foreigners but this time he attended. Their capability to organize one million people for a parade is so impressive. Although it was just a parade, it was also artistic, colorful and lively.

You passed through China on the way to and from North Korea. Did you see any differences between the two countries and the two systems?

The differences would be that China is now much more ahead and has friendly relations with so many countries. They had the same problems before they opened up diplomatic relations with the US, because the foreign investments didn’t easily come in, you know. It took time, even for them – remember, they only joined the WTO last year or this year.

But why has China been able to make this progress faster than Korea? If you remember, during the Korean War both Chinese and Korean troops were fighting on the same side, but from 40-50 years ago, China it seems has moved a lot faster and farther.

Well, after the Korean War, I think Korea had closer relations with the Soviet Union, and as a result they didn’t keep that close friendship with China and so they sort of depended on the Soviet Union. Later on the Soviet economy collapsed and they had to settle their own relationship with the United States and other Western powers. I mean, it’s not easy to compare Korea with China and say that they should have done the same thing. After all, they do come from different histories.

You mentioned that investments are not coming in and you seem to imply that investments are somehow being prevented from coming in. Can you talk a bit more about that, why are there only few investments coming in?

North Korea is a member of the UN and it has established diplomatic relations with many countries, but despite that the foreign investors don’t come because there is still a hostile relationship between North Korea and the US. As we all know, the United States has a very strong influence on where investors would go because it’s all tied up with its wealth and power.

For example, North Korea has a good relationship with the government of Thailand and there are some investors there who have expressed willingness to invest. I met a Filipino engineer during my last trip and he was there in order to make a feasibility study for a telecommunications business investment by a Thai investment group.

North Korea has a state ideology of self reliance, it’s called Juche. Maybe that is the reason why investments are not coming in, maybe it’s this inhospitable ideology that deters investors from abroad. What do you think?

I think North Korea has already expressed that they would like to see something like what’s happening in China. China’s communist party is in control of government, everybody knows that, and through its own efforts China has been able to make the investments come in. North Korea would like to see the same, in fact they have already talked with so many private groups, like overseas Koreans who look at Korea as their motherland, who have relatives there and would like to invest.

However, overseas Koreans who live in the US are not allowed to go to North Korea because they don’t have diplomatic relations, so that is a difficulty for them. I think the main issue is still how to resolve the hostility between the government of the United States and their government, so that all things would flow after that.

I have to admit that I don’t know so much about the Juche idea, and it’s not the reason why I became president of the Phil-Korea Friendship Society. My main purpose is really just to help in whatever way I can for world peace. No country should be isolated, no people should be stigmatized, because I think it’s really better for people to be tolerant, to be understanding – you know, to live and let live.

Obviously, one of the things the Philippines has to do is get to know its neighbors better. As president of the Phil-DPRK Friendship Society, what can you say about our historical ties or connections with Korea?

I’m very happy now that there are diplomatic and friendly relations between the Philippines and North Korea because I think that’s the starting point, so that people will not be so afraid to go there and likewise we can accept them to come here.

When did diplomatic relations start?

Just three years ago. In fact, we had dinner with the Philippine ambassador to China and DPRK when we were in Beijing and he said he would like to be a part of the Friendship Society. He would like to contribute, to give ideas on how to develop the relations further, because he believes that it’s in the interest of the Philippines and the Filipino people to be open to all relationships – cultural, trade, or whatever – with North Korea, because we really should foster friendly relations with all countries for mutual benefit and interest.

But we don’t have an embassy in Pyongyang?

No. I think our country cannot afford it, and also because it’s so near Beijing anyway.

So the ambassador to China also covers North Korea. And this is Ambassador…

At the moment, Josue Villa. Later on, it will be Willy Gaa. You know, the Ambassador was grateful that there is this civil society initiative, nauuna pa sa government. Kasi sa China noong hindi pa masyadong friendly ‘yung governments although there were already diplomatic relations, it was civil society that initiated visits and trade.

Are there many Filipinos in North Korea right now?

I think that over the last five years, some Filipinos went there for jobs as workers in a cigarette factory that a Singaporean investor had set up in Pyongyang. These Filipinos number about a dozen or more men and women, and they have been confirmed to be working in Pyongyang by other Filipinos who live in Beijing because they often travel to Beijing for holidays. There are also Filipinos who work in the UN agency, FAO.

Are there any particular businesses or economic opportunities or issues that have been brought up or that you see from the Korean end?

I think it’s good for our business community to know that North Korea has a lot of mineral resources. Even South Koreans would point out that there’s so much minerals in the mountains of North Korea, like granite and marble of very good quality. And also they have what they call mineral "clinkers." They are really looking for an exchange, if not buyers, at least to exchange products from here. They will also bring the products here for a start.

But to start this, Filipino investors first of all have to be open. It’s not risky or scary to get to know North Korea. At the very least, they should visit just to get to know the country first. I think the Korean people themselves are the biggest resource, because they have a wonderful level of education, they have a lot of people who are experts in natural sciences, in traditional health medicine.

One professor in UP told me that he admired so much their philosophy in sports. He would like the university to really study and to send people there because he knows they have excelled in sports development, and have really reached high levels of excellence. They have won medals in Monaco for their acrobatic performances, they won medals, gold, sa mga Olympic sports, and of course they’re the original founders of taekwondo.

In the North, huh, not the South?

North. And they have also excelled in gymnastics and all that. We are now planning to bring over ‘yung circus nila, the National Circus of Pyongyang, which has about 300 members. They are capable of sending simultaneously to several countries because they’re organized in groups of 65. This is a project being planned by the Friendship Society for Christmas next year.

Are you looking for partners or investors in this project?

Yes. We are looking for promoters, events handlers, to help us bring this world-acclaimed troupe to the country.

What are the other programs of the society that you’re planning, aside from maybe bringing the circus over by December next year?

We hope to invite some of their painters who will help us with their workshops, and also the ceramics makers to exchange notes with our people. Their gymnastic teachers could have an exchange with our people here, for our youths to go for gymnastics training there — student exchanges in sports like taekwondo.

I also heard that they have a very good traditional medicine institute. I had arthritis during my trip there. Nag-swell ang aking knees, ginamitan lang nila ako ng acupuncture. Ang laking tulong pala! And they say these treatments are normal, in every hotel they put up an acupuncture site for the guests.

Did you see a lot of foreign brand names when you were there?

They have shops with goods from Japan, China and South Korea.Pinipili nila ‘yung goods, hindi basta-basta na lang kung anu-ano ang pwedeng pumasok.

Were you able to buy any local goods when you were there?

My favorite, flowers made out of fabric. They look so real! They have silk for their national costume. And their famous ceramics, the green ceramics, artists’ originals, and they produce their own insam (ginseng), tea and candies. They have one brewery in every district. There are 3,000 districts so they have 3,000 breweries.

They are also very proud of their kimchi. I think the people will not survive without it. They also have vegetables, fruits, they gave us watermelons while we were there as a special gift daw from Kim Jong Il.

If a Filipino wanted to go to North Korea, it’s probably not so easy, no?

Actually it’s easy. The Friendship Society will help facilitate their trip, give them advice on what to take, whether train or plane. We will also facilitate the invitations for their visit. Just contact the Phil-DPRK Friendship Society at 433-1660 or send fax to 928-9427. Our office is located in Quezon City. We are now just preparing our website, hopefully it will be ready by next month. We are planning a friendship tour for April 2004 and those interested in joining this tour may call us to register.

So the visitor has to have an invitation from DPRK in order to get a visa?

No, not really. They can also go derecho, kung gusto nila.

How big will the tour be and what are the requirements?

It can be up to 15 to 20 people. The itinerary will be Manila-Shanghai-Beijing-Pyongyang or Manila-Beijing-Pyongyang. The experience will be all about what a communist country looks like and how people under the communist system live. And also the areas where North Korea excels – acrobatic performances, gymnastic performances, visiting the stadiums, beautiful paintings/artworks, and so on.

Aside from the Friendship Society, what do you do these days?

I just built my first house. I am already 52 years old, ngayon lang ako nagkabahay. It’s located on the beach of Caticlan right beside the ferry landing in Boracay. It will be my dream house kasi maglalagay ako ng greenhouse doon and help people from Caticlan to have regular vegetable production.

I’m trying to come up with a book containing the latest interviews of Filipino comfort women, particularly those who were made into sex slaves in the Emmanuel Capiz hospital, which served as a Japanese military garrison in World War II. There are about 35 women who have interesting stories, and they came together, like a reunion, and shared their experiences. We hope to publish their experiences into a book.

Interested suitors may apply?

(Laughs) No comment.