[3] According to Jang, "In winter, when soldiers were given only two threadbare blankets each and little heat, it was common for us to find a partner and sleep hugging each other at night to keep warm" and that "We considered it part of what the party called 'revolutionary comradeship.
'"[3] Jang also said that in his front line unit, senior soldiers and officers bribed him with apples and other food to lure him into their blankets.
[1][2][3] After years of remaining childless, the married couple visited a doctor on the advice of relatives to see if they had any physical problems, which they did not.
Jang's defection made headlines and his family were punished for his actions, being banished to a remote village in the north.
[3] In 2004, Jang fell in love with a local flight attendant who he was introduced to by the owner of his favourite bar.
[2] Afterwards, Jang fell ill and was hospitalized for a month, which resulted in him losing his factory job and becoming homeless.
[3] An anonymous North Korean defector who had known Jang's family said that his wife had also been expelled from her village, but was later reinstated.
[1] He then started to spend his free time writing and in late April 2015, he published an autobiography called A Mark of Red Honor, which was later translated to English in 2017.