My family lived under communism their entire lives. When they arrived in South Korea, they didn't even know how to use the… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
I defected to South Korea in search of freedom of speech and movement. I had longed to put my feet on this… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
We refugees, we become always a punchbag. A political punchbag between China and South Korea and North Korea. — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
My favourite place in South Korea is Jeju Island: it's a tropical paradise with sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and the magnificent Geomunoreum… — 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
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
When I was little, I thought my country was the best on the planet. And I grew up singing a song called… — Lee Hyeon-seo Copy Share Image
Breathing in South Korea, even though the life here is not easy, makes me so happy. I feel that sitting in a… — 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 believe I'll see the reunification of North and South Korea in my lifetime and that defectors should play a role in… — 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
