My escape from North Korea | Hyeonseo Lee | TED

Translator: Shqiponja Hoxha Critic: Helena Bedalli When I was little I thought my country was the best on the planet, and I grew up singing a song called "nothing to envy" that I was very proud of. We spent a lot of time in school studying the history of Kim II-Sung, but we learned nothing about the outside world except that the United States, South Korea, and Japan are enemies. Although I was often curious about the outside world, I thought I would spend my entire life in North Korea, until suddenly everything changed. When I was 7 years old I saw a public execution for the first time, but I thought my life in North Korea was normal.

My family was not poor and I never went hungry. But one day in 1995, my mother brought home a letter from a colleague's sister. It was written: "When you read this letter, all 5 family members will no longer be in this world because we have not eaten for the last 2 weeks. We are lying on the ground and our bodies are very weak. We are dying." I was speechless. It was the first time I heard that people in my country were suffering. After a while, passing behind the train station, I saw something terrible that I can't get out of my head.

A lifeless woman lying on the ground, while a weak child in her arms looked desperately at her face. But no one helped them, because everyone was focused on taking care of themselves and their families. In the mid-1990s, North Korea suffered a major crisis. In the end, more than a million North Koreans died during the crisis, and many survived only by eating grass, insects, and tree bark. Power outages are becoming more frequent and around me at night there was only darkness except for the lights of China, across the river behind my house. I always wondered why they had lights and we didn't.

This is a satellite photo of North Korea at night compared to its neighbors. This is the Amrok River, which serves as the border between China and North Korea. See, the river becomes very narrow at some points, allowing the North Koreans to cross it stealthily. But many die. Sometimes I saw dead bodies floating along the river. I can't go into too much detail about how I left North Korea, but I can say that during the years of the terrible famine I went to China to live with distant cousins. But I thought I would be separated from my family only for a short time.

I never imagined it would take 14 years to get back together. In China it was difficult to live as a girl without a family. I didn't know what life would be like as a refugee from North Korea, but I quickly learned that it is not only difficult, but also very dangerous, because North Koreans in China are considered illegal immigrants. I lived in constant fear that my identity would be revealed and that I would be sent back to a terrible fate in North Korea. One day, my worst dream came true when the Chinese police caught me and took me to the police station for interrogation.

Someone had accused me of being from North Korea, they tested my Chinese language skills and asked me hundreds of questions. I was so scared I thought my heart was going to explode. If the slightest thing seemed false, I would have been imprisoned and repatriated. I thought my life was over, but I managed to control all the emotions inside me and answered the questions. After the questions were over, one officer told another: "That was a false report. She's not from North Korea." And set me free. It was a miracle. Some North Koreans seek asylum in China through foreign embassies, but many are captured by Chinese police and repatriated.

These girls were lucky to have been captured and released after much international pressure. These North Koreans did not suffer the same fate. Every year, countless North Koreans are captured in China and repatriated where they may be tortured, imprisoned or publicly executed. Although I was very lucky to

escape

, many others were not so lucky. It is tragic that North Korean women have to hide their identity and fight so hard to survive. Even after learning a new language and starting to work, their lives can be turned upside down in an instant. And that's why after 10 years of hiding my identity, I decided to take a risk by going to South Korea and started a new life.

Settling in South Korea turned out to be more difficult than I expected. English was very important in South Korea, so I started learning a third language. I realized that there was a big difference between the North and the South. We are all Koreans, but inside we have become very different during 67 years of separation. I also went through an identity crisis. Am I from North Korea or South Korea? Where do I come from? Who I am? Suddenly there was no country to be proud of. Although it wasn't easy to create a life in South Korea, I had a plan.

I started studying to enter university. Just as I was getting used to my new life, last night I received a shocking phone call. The North Korean authorities had discovered that I had sent some money to my family, and as punishment, my family would be forcibly moved to a lost village. They had to leave soon and I started thinking of ways to help them

escape

. North Koreans have a long road to travel in search of freedom. It is almost impossible to cross the border between North and South Korea, so I bought a ticket to China and headed to the border with North Korea.

Since my family didn't speak Chinese, I somehow had to guide them 2,000 miles to China and back to Southeast Asia. The bus trip lasted 1 week and many times we ran the risk of getting caught. Once our bus stopped and a Chinese officer got on. He checked all the ID cards and started asking questions. My family didn't speak Chinese and I thought they would be arrested. As soon as the officer approached my family, I immediately stood up and told them that it was a group of deaf and mute people that I was accompanying. He looked at me suspiciously, but luckily he believed me.

We made it all the way to the border in Laos, but I spent almost all my money bribing the guards in Laos. But even after crossing the border, my family was arrested and imprisoned for illegally crossing the border. After paying the fine and bribe money, my family was released after a month, but after a while they were arrested and imprisoned again in the capital of Laos. This was one of the lowest points of my life. I did everything I could to free my family, and we were very close to that point, but my family was returned to prison very close to the South Korean embassy.

I went up and down from the immigration office to the police station desperately trying to get my family released but I didn't have enough money to pay fines or bribes. I lost all hope. At that moment I heard a man's voice asking me: "What happened?" I was surprised that a stranger cared and asked me. With little English and a dictionary I explained the situation, and without hesitation the man went to the ATM and paid the change so that my family and 2 other North Koreans could get out of prison. I thanked him wholeheartedly and asked, "Why are you helping me?" "I'm not helping you," he told me. "I'm helping the people of North Korea." This was a symbolic moment for my life.

The unknown sparked new hope in me and the people of North Korea when I needed it most; He showed me that the kindness of strangers and the help of the international community are truly the rays that we North Koreans need. In the end, after the long journey, my family and I joined South Korea, but freedom is half the battle. Many North Koreans are separated from their families and when they arrive in a new country they start with little or no money. This way we can benefit from the international community for education, English language courses, work courses and others.

We can also be a link for the people of North Korea and the outside world. because some of us are in contact with family members still inside the country, sending them money and information that helps change North Korea from within. I have been lucky to have received so much help and inspiration in my life, so I want to help North Koreans have the opportunity to grow with international support. I'm sure you'll see many, many successful North Koreans around the world, including on the TED stage. Thank you. (Applause)