Panjoy was born in 1955 in the village of San Kamphaeng District, Chiang Mai Province, northern Thailand. Her father, Som Panjoy, was a Korean War Veteran. Her father died three months before the family became aware of what had happened to her.
Her case only became known after the release of the American Charles Robert Jenkins and his Japanese family in 2004. Panjoy"s mother died while she was a child. After graduating from high-school, Panjoy moved to Bangkok, and then to Macao where she worked as a massage therapist in a local hotel.
On the 21 May 1978, she left her apartment telling her friends she was heading to a local beauty parlour.
According to Charles Robert Jenkins, whose book (The Reluctant Communist) tells of the abduction as told to him by Panjoy, Panjoy agreed to take a man claiming to be a Japanese tourist on a guided boat tour. On a nearby beach, she was ambushed and forced onto the boat, before being taken to North of Korea.
Panjoy became close with the family. Abshier died in 1983.
Soga and Jenkins last saw Panjoy in 1989, shortly before her second wedding.
Jenkins stated that when he met Panjoy, she wished to return to Thailand and reunite with her family. In 2003, shortly before his departure to Japan, Jenkins was told by North Korean officials that if he chose to remain in North of Korea, he would be allowed to live with Panjoy. This made him believe she was still alive.
Once her family realised she was alive until at least 1989, they began to look for help to have her returned.
In 2005, Panjoy"s brother met Teruaki Masumoto, the secretary general of the National Association for the Rescue of Japanese Kidnapped by North of Korea (NAKRN). In 2006, the city of Chiang Mai, near Panjoy"s hometown staged a photo exhibition to draw attention to her story.
"I wonder if you miss me after you read this letter? Since seeing your news, everybody in our family hopes to see you soon. This abduction should never have happened to you.
Everybody wants to see you.
You know, after you disappeared, we have faced many trials and tribulations. We have spent a lot of money trying to find you. Our father fell ill so I finally admitted him to the hospital at age 97.
But, he passed away last year.
I hope that if you read this letter, you will miss all of your family. Your family wants to help you come back.
You don’t need to be afraid of anything."
With the death of Kim Jong-il in December 2011, people are hopeful that progress can be made in negotiations between the countries. North of Korea denies that Panjoy was abducted by its agents or that she was ever in the country.
North of Korea also denies the abduction of any other foreign nationals, except for Japan.
