Freedom for wounded N. Korean soldier who defected means 100 boxes of Choco Pies
The man asked for Choco Pies after surgery, and Orion was happy to oblige.
— -- The wounded North Korean soldier who survived a near-fatal defection to South Korea has reportedly received 100 boxes of Choco Pies.
After waking up from surgery last month, the 24-year-old man, known only by his surname “Oh,” told his doctors he wanted a Choco Pie – a South Korean confection consisting of two small round cake layers filled with marshmallow and dipped in chocolate.
When the maker of Choco Pie, Orion Confectionery Co., heard about Oh’s wish, it sent over 100 boxes of the snack to Ajou University Hospital, where he is recovering, The Korea Herald reported.
“We sent the Choco Pies as a welcoming present to Oh, who came to Korea after going through hardship,” Orion Confectionery said in a statement to The Korea Herald. “It was not an act for publicity.”
North Korean guards shot Oh at least five times before he made it past the demarcation line Nov. 13.
The hospital staff says that Oh is still recovering and can’t indulge in the sweets quite yet, but the boxes of Choco Pies have reportedly been placed in his room.
Oh told hospital staff he used to get the confection from employees at the now-closed Kaesong Industrial Complex, which was located just north of the demilitarized zone, according to The Korea Times.
Park Ye-Kyong, who defected to Seoul in 2004, told ABC News in 2012 that when the Kaesong Industrial Complex was operating, laborers were given two to three Choco Pies as daily snacks. Most of the sweets were not eaten and were sold on the black market.
Jin Joo Chae, a Korean political artist, told ABC News in 2014, "When they sell a Choco Pie on the black market, they could have $10 and it's worth like 100 grams of rice."
In 2014, North Korean Officials banned the coveted confection and ordered factory staff to give workers sausages or instant noodles instead, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported.
South Korean activists protested the ban by launching balloons filled with Choco Pies across the DMZ to the north, The Associated Press reported.