North Korean man who defected for love dies at 58 from cardiac arrest

Lee Chang-soo, a former North Korean judo national athlete and citizen, died from cardiac arrest aged 58 on Jan. 20.

Their love story was dubbed the real-life "Crash Landing on You", which centres around the relationship between a North Korean defected soldier and South Korean woman.

Lee's death was announced by his wife, Chen Lingzhen, also a former Taiwanese judoka, on Facebook.

"Thank you. I appreciate your kindness. I love you," she wrote in a mix of Mandarin and Korean, adding in quotation, "I truly loved judo."

Former North Korean judoka

Lee was born in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and practiced judo from a young age.

According to South Korean media Chosun Daily, he eventually became a key member of the North Korean national team, winning a bronze medal at the 1989 World Championships, among others.

It was also at these Games that he met his future wife, who was representing Taiwan, and the pair agreed to meet again at the Beijing Asian Games the following year, said ET Today

Defected from North Korea

However, Lee lost out on a gold medal to South Korean Judoka Jung Hoon in the 1990 Beijing Games, settling for second place.

At home, he was reportedly punished with manual labour, including being forced to work in a coal mine.

"Being sent to the coal mine for a single loss made me feel betrayed. Although I could survive as a meritorious athlete, I felt I could not have children," he once said in an interview.

The following year, while participating in the World Championships in Spain, he defected to Germany and then to South Korea. 

At a press conference after his defection, he declared his love for Chen.

A year following his defection, he reunited with and married Chen in South Korea, a story that many media dubbed the real-life "Crash Landing on You".

The couple had three sons, all of whom also became judo athletes.

Lee's actions at the time caused major repercussions, including the cancellation of sporting events between both Koreas, reported Chosun Daily.

He worked as a coach for the Korea Racing Authority and the South Korean national judo team, and was at one point also the leader for the Taiwanese national judo team.

He was laid to rest in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province on Jan. 23.

Top images via Rotten Tomatoes & Lee Chan-soo/Facebook