Seohyun Lee, born and raised in the North Korean elite, decided to leave her comfortable life in North Korea for freedom.
By Kaoruko Kobayashi
Seohyun Lee and her father in Washington D.C.
In April 2012, Seohyun Lee, born and raised as a member of the North Korean elite, was riding a taxi in Dalian, China by herself when the driver offhandedly asked why North Korea’s leaders hadn’t taken better care of their country’s poor.
The Chinese taxi driver might have been making small talk, but for Seohyun the conversation marked a turning point.
“It was the moment I realized I have been brainwashed,” she said. “I was unplugged from the regime.”
Although the Korean War ended in 1953, the two countries have not signed a peace treaty.
North Korea continues to test ballistic missiles, reminding the world that the two countries are technically still at war. The international community must urgently pay attention to the North Korean regime consistently violating human rights in the region.
Seohyun lived a life that many other North Koreans envied, as her father worked as a high-ranking official for the North Korean Workers’ Party. She graduated from Kumsung Academy, whose most famous alumna is the first lady of North Korea, Ri Suk-ju and studied Chinese at Kim II Sung University, the most prestigious in the country. She did not have to worry about being cold in the winter or worry about what to eat the next day.
At the age of 23, Seohyun was studying abroad at Dongbei University in China. However, during her stay, she decided to leave behind a comfortable life in North Korea.
“I had the opportunity to study in China due to my father’s position and his commitment to the regime,” said Seohyun.
The conversation she had with the taxi driver made her realize that, as a North Korean, she had lived her life in a bubble. The driver pointed at a picture of Deng Xiaoping, a Chinese revolutionary leader, hanging from his car mirror.
“Deng Xiaoping’s economic policy helped many people in China get out of poverty, but why haven’t the leaders of North Korea done the same and instead have left the people of North Korea to starve?” he asked Seohyun.
“The world around me started to crumble,” Seohyun said.
Witnessing the moment
A year later in China, Seohyun’s best friend was captured right in front of her. Suzan Lee is two
years older than Seohyun and they had known each other since 2008 when they lived in North Korea. The two became closer during their year abroad in China as Suzan was Seohyun’s roommate.
On their way to the cafeteria at Dongbei University, a man wearing a black jacket suddenly approached Suzan. Suzan was suddenly dragged out of the dorm room by a North Korean agent.
“I never saw her again,” Seohyun said.
Seohyun later found out, through her father, that the North Korean government sent Suzan and her family to a political prison camp and publicly executed her father. Seohyun never learned the reason behind Suzan’s father’s execution. But she knows people in North Korea are killed for no reason and his execution was simply because he worked for Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song-thaek.
Two hours after Suzan disappeared, Seohyun got a message from her that she will never forget.
“I don’t think I can come back to school,” Suzan said. “Could you keep my personal belongings? I am at the restroom on the highway and throwing away my phone now.”
Seohyun was furious that the government punished an innocent person. Even if Suzan’s father committed a crime, she did not know why her whole family had to be punished.
“This was the first time I learned that no one is ever truly safe in North Korea,” Seohyun said.
“We are just slaves for Kim Jong Un and are disposable.”
Following this event, Seohyun and her family saw many of their friends executed or sent to political prison camps.
With the fear that her family could be executed or taken to a prison camp, Seohyun’s entire family decided to flee the country. In 2014, they left to South Korea from China where they lived due to her father’s posting. She cannot reveal the details of the escape route to protect those that helped her. They soon moved to the U.S. for safety, where she now works on advocating for human rights for North Koreans.
Only nineteen North Korean defectors arrived in South Korea in 2022, the lowest figure since 1998 due to tightened border restrictions between China and North Korea amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this might not be the only cause. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies report, North Korea launched a propaganda campaign to show its people that those who defected to South Korea were having a hard time because South Koreans did not welcome them. This effort began when Kim Jong-un became the supreme leader in 2010, making it more difficult for North Koreans to defect.
Ways Forward
The international NGO Liberty in North Korea works with North Koreans to achieve their liberty from the Kim regime. Their work involves helping North Korean refugees escape through a secret route and helping their settlement in South Korea.
Annie Chong, Chief of Staff of Liberty In North Korea, talked about how the pandemic has negatively impacted the work they do. In 2020, the NGO helped fifteen North Korean refugees escape safely despite the pandemic.
“It has been very tough for us,” Annie said.
Many North Koreans face mental health challenges upon their arrival in South Korea due to the lack of community and loneliness. This became a bigger issue for those that arrived in 2020 with quarantine and social distancing regulations. To help such people, the NGO has launched various programs such as the Coronavirus Relief Program, to provide financial support. Such programs create a support system for the North Korean defectors.
Asked about the negative campaign by Kim Jong-un,
“If a defector left their family in North Korea and there is a threat to their family, there is a rare case they go back to North Korea but that usually does not happen,” Annie said.
Many South Koreans view such North Korean defectors in an empathetic way.
Chan Young Park, a South Korean national who has experienced the conflict with North Korea in the forefront while serving in the Korean military, views North Korean defectors as South Korean citizens.
“South Korea does not recognize North Korea as a legitimate state but as an anti-government organization,” said Chan Young.
“They view that the rights of North Korean people are protected under the Constitution as South Korean nationals and I have the same sentiment as stipulated in the constitution,” Chan Young continued.
This fall, Seohyun began her Master’s at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Until this day, she cannot get in contact with Suzan. Carrying the dreams of her friend, she is the beacon of hope.
“We cannot choose where we are born,” she said. “But we can choose how to respond to circumstances.”