Living in China, I found out that the bright new world was not for me, not for defectors. My life in North… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
North Korean defectors who speak out against the regime always feel nervous. We never know what the North Korean government is planning.… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
I am one of the lucky North Koreans who made it out of China. North Korean defectors in the country are terrified… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
North Korean defectors can usually tell when other defectors are lying about their past. — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Here in South Korea, I'm continuing to learn English in order to boost my prospects. When North Korean defectors try to get… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
I hate the Chinese government. If you do not want to embrace North Korean defectors in your country, I understand. But we… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Leaving North Korea is not like leaving any other country. It is more like leaving another universe. — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
North Korea is still my homeland, my country. I suffered on the outside because I was alien, without identity. I was nobody. I was… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
The kindness of strangers and the support of the international community are truly the rays of hope we North Korean people need. — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
A huge famine hit North Korea in the mid-1990s. Ultimately, more than a million North Koreans died during the famine, and many only survived… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
Most people in the country didn't - and might still not - know about how powerful the United States is. They think North Korean… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
I just wanted to see China with my own eyes. I wanted to see whether North Korea was the best country in the world… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
People who live in North Korea, they die for food, but living in the free world, the cat even eats expensive sushi. — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
If defectors say they had high-level connections in Pyongyang or came from an esteemed institution in the North, they can gain better employment in… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
Certainly in North Korea, man is always superior to woman. Even the government treats women horribly. What is the slogan? Woman is a flower. — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
When I was little, I thought my country was the best on the planet. And I grew up singing a song called 'Nothing To… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
The border crossing is the most dangerous moment for anyone attempting to escape. But my brother and mother had been waved off by every… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
I lived near the border with China, and one night, I simply left home and walked across the iced-over river that separated the two… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
Hyesan people have money, the most after those in Pyongyang, because it's near the border with China. Illegal smuggling businesses and Chinese trading companies… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
North Korea is not the dictator's country; it's 25 million citizens' country, and they are suffering under the dictator. North Koreans are really nice,… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
I think it's possible that China is ready for a serious change regarding its North Korean defector policy. Chinese people are starting to realize… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share
