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 Image
A huge famine hit North Korea in the mid-1990s. Ultimately, more than a million North Koreans died during the famine, and many… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Most people in the country didn't - and might still not - know about how powerful the United States is. They think… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
If defectors say they had high-level connections in Pyongyang or came from an esteemed institution in the North, they can gain better… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
North Korea is not the dictator's country; it's 25 million citizens' country, and they are suffering under the dictator. North Koreans are… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
I think it's possible that China is ready for a serious change regarding its North Korean defector policy. Chinese people are starting… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Freedom means everything to me. It is the most essential right that every person deserves. Most people take it for granted, but… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
In China, it was hard living as a young girl without my family. I had no idea what life was going to… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
I don't think the North Korean leadership is interested in a genuine deal to end their WMD programs or their stranglehold on… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
In North Koreans, the moment we are born, we don't know there's another life existing outside of our country. The regime always… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Even though some heartless North Korean, Korean-Chinese, and Chinese citizens have exploited vulnerable defectors for money, I witnessed many acts of kindness… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
As a child, every North Korean is very happy. We were very happy because we learned horrible things about the outside world,… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Some people criticize North Koreans and ask, 'Are they stupid? How can they believe those ridiculous things?' But I say, It doesn't… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Even after arriving in South Korea, it's dangerous. As a North Korean defector, I need to be careful from the spies to… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
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
The North Korean regime really can control people. I think they are the best dictator in the whole planet. — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Like every country, North Korea has some very smart people. They could be contributing a lot more to science and other areas,… — 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
North Koreans are tragically oppressed. Despite the risks to my personal safety, I feel a strong obligation to tell the world about… — 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
It was very shocking for me to read newspapers that openly criticised the government in South Korea. That is impossible in North… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
I've been so lucky, received so much help and inspiration in my life, so I want to help give aspiring North Koreans… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Due to hate, fear, and oppression, the North Koreans cannot help themselves. — 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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
