North Korean soldier who defected to the South loves watching music videos and movies, doctor says
WATCH A soldier escapes from North Korean to South Korea
The North Korean solider who was captured on video defecting to the South earlier this month is enjoying watching South Korean music videos and the American movie "Transformers 3," his doctor says.
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The 24-year-old defector, identified only by his last name, Oh, was shot at least five times by North Korean guards before he made it past the demarcation line on Nov. 13. But Oh is "not going to die," Lee Cook-jong, the lead surgeon who operated on the defected soldier, said at a press conference Wednesday.
The United Nations Command in control of the border between the two Koreas released dramatic video footage that shows Oh speeding south in a Jeep, before getting out and running from North Korean soldiers who open fire on him. Oh was later dragged to freedom by South Korean soldiers after being shot.
Oh has been in the North Korean military for eight years, at times working as a vehicle driver. After being rescued, he was immediately transported to Ajou Hospital in Suwon, south of Seoul, where he underwent two critical surgeries. He has since fully regained consciousness and confessed that he defected to the south on his own will, Lee said.
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An emergency surgery took place just 30 minutes after Oh arrived at the hospital. The second surgery followed two days later, when surgeons removed five bullets from his body. Lee explained that Oh will be able to leave the intensive care unit as early as this weekend, but it could take over a month until the patient is ready for in-depth interviews, he said.
The medical team discovered parasitic worms in the man's intestines. He is also under examination for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and is suffering from tuberculosis as well as chronic hepatitis, according to Lee.
Lee told reporters Oh is still shy and reticent. Hospital staff do not allow Oh to watch news programming in fear of triggering PTSD. Instead, they have played three K-pop music videos for Oh, including a song called "Gee" (music video below) by the girl group Girls' Generation, which Oh liked, according to Lee.
Oh has also been watching Korean TV, particularly the movie channel, including the third installment of "Transformers." He likes watching the American crime drama series "CSI" as well as films starring American actors Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman, Lee said.
ABC News’ Hakyung Kate Lee, Yejin Jang and Jaesang Lee contributed to this report.
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