ASii's Story
In 1987, Dr. Kim Pil-joo met with Rev. Rhee Syng-man, director of the New York office of the United Presbyterian Church. He explained North Korea's food shortage and asked Dr. Kim for help as a seed scientist improving corn seeds. The following year, Dr. Kim Pil-joo received a call from the U.N. Mission in North America. They invited her and her husband (a livestock industry expert) to North Korea to travel and help develop higher yields of corn seeds.
When Dr. Kim Pil-joo and her husband received invitations to visit North Korea, they thought seriously about visiting the communist country. Dr. Kim and her husband felt deep pain about using their expertise to help boost agricultural production in North Korea. After much consideration, they agreed with each other that their primary purpose of studying agriculture was to "help improve food security for the poor and the needy," and decided to accept an invitation to North Korea.
On March 17, 1989, for the first time in their life, they boarded the Joseon Min-Hang(the name of the North Korean airline at that time) with fear and concern. But it was a rare experience for them. Especially for Dr. Kim Pil-joo, who was born in North Korea but had to leave as a young girl in 1945.
When they arrived at Sunan Airport in Pyongyang, a young guide with a very handsome and generous smile called out their names. He spoke in Korean, and at that moment the anxiety and fear in their hearts melted away.
In 1989, North Korea was proud of its own food needs, but Dr. Kim Pil-joo and her husband could already feel the problem of agricultural productivity in the North. Until the early 1990s, many natural disasters had worsened the economy and steep increases in energy costs were enough to undermine the North's food supply capacity. The public distribution system collapsed and famine occurred. Food shortages have also killed nearly a million people.
They are Christian believers who have come to pledge that it is their duty to help farmers develop their agricultural capabilities and help North Koreans. Since her first visit, Dr. Kim has visited North Korea more than 100 times and received her expertise and millions of dollars in humanitarian aid.
So Dr. Kim Pil-joo signed the first contract with the government to improve the long-term capabilities of various cooperative farms.