North Korean Refugee Stories: Meet Yoo Kyung
Yoo Kyung had the fortune of growing up in a middle-class family in North Korea. Her comfortable childhood even offered her the opportunity to travel to Pyongyang with a group of other children. As she grew older, she attended college and was able to secure a stable job.
Even though she had a steady income, she realized that she could never save up any money. Living day to day frustrated her and she wondered how someone with a good job could go through such difficulties.
Life was made even more difficult for Yoo Kyung when her daughter disappeared. With every day that went by without her daughter, she became more depressed. Eventually, she received word from a family member that her daughter was safe in South Korea. They had escaped together.
Yoo Kyung’s family member told her all about South Korea—how people were able to save up money, and that her daughter had access to education like never before. Yoo Kyung decided that she had to escape North Korea in order to live a decent life.
Yoo Kyung lost one of her shoes while struggling to cross the Tumen River during her escape. Traveling without one shoe, she went door to door in China asking for help. Just as she was ready to give up hope, a kind Chinese-Korean man let her in. He gave her food and allowed her to call a contact in China.
Yoo Kyung now awaits a joyful reunion with her daughter, who she has not seen in several years. She also wants to find a job to save money to bring her siblings out of North Korea. She plans to contact her family to tell them how free life outside North Korea really is and that there are people who can help them escape from China. Before she escaped, Yoo Kyung had no idea that there were organizations like LiNK. She wants to make sure her family knows that people truly care about North Koreans.
Thank you for helping supply the funds for Yoo Kyung’s rescue. Your efforts have changed her life and have provided the opportunity for her to enjoy her new LIBERTY.
