Ji Young lived most of her life in constant hunger, was trafficked and forced to marry a man she didn’t love, and was forcibly sent back to North Korea.
Her strength and resilience helped her make a new life. She’s now a free woman in South Korea.
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International Women’s Day: Six North Korean Women Who Inspire Us
POSTED March 7, 2014
We’re celebrating International Women’s Day 2014 with six stories of inspiring North Korean women. For a better life, these women persevered through incredible hardships and are now pursuing their full potential in safety and freedom.
Hae Sun worked illegally as a salesgirl on North Korean trains. For this, she went to prison four times. She had to work hard labor, suffered severe beatings, and witnessed people die in prison.
Growing weary of the way the government treated its people, she decided to escape. She now lives in South Korea and hopes to attend university to become a Korean-Chinese interpreter.
In China, Ji Yeon was sold to a Chinese man who didn’t allow her to contact her family or leave the house.
Eventually she was able to escape and now lives in safety in South Korea where she has the freedom to pursue her dream of teaching preschool students.
After escaping to China alone, Ae Ra was sold and was forced to live under conditions that were worse than what she had left.
Desiring a better life, she made the decision to escape with her son and is now free in South Korea.
Mi Hyun realized she could not be truly free in North Korea. In her area, women weren’t allowed to wear shorts or earrings. She also couldn’t watch TV, make phone calls to other countries, or speak out against the unfairness she saw around her.
She decided to escape and now lives in South Korea, where she hopes to better herself through education.
Young Joo (right) left North Korea in search of a new life. In South Korea, she married another North Korean defector and recently received her college degree in Chinese language and literature.
She now works for one of the biggest companies in South Korea and is flourishing in her newfound freedom.
