0:00:00.357,0:00:01.708
When I was little,

0:00:01.708,0:00:05.070
I thought my country was the best on the planet,

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and I grew up singing a song called "Nothing To Envy."

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And I was very proud.

0:00:11.080,0:00:12.868
In school, we spent a lot of time

0:00:12.868,0:00:14.629
studying the history of Kim Il-Sung,

0:00:14.629,0:00:18.571
but we never learned much about the outside world,

0:00:18.571,0:00:23.521
except that America, South Korea, Japan are the enemies.

0:00:23.521,0:00:26.735
Although I often wondered about the outside world,

0:00:26.735,0:00:30.883
I thought I would spend my entire life in North Korea,

0:00:30.883,0:00:34.587
until everything suddenly changed.

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When I was seven years old, I saw my first public execution,

0:00:39.347,0:00:42.605
but I thought my life in North Korea was normal.

0:00:42.605,0:00:44.717
My family was not poor,

0:00:44.717,0:00:48.250
and myself, I had never experienced hunger.

0:00:48.250,0:00:52.753
But one day, in 1995, my mom brought home a letter

0:00:52.753,0:00:54.816
from a coworker's sister.

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It read, "When you read this, all five family members

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will not exist in this world,

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because we haven't eaten for the past two weeks.

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We are lying on the floor together,

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and our bodies are so weak we are ready to die."

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I was so shocked.

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This was the first time I heard

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that people in my country were suffering.

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Soon after, when I was walking past a train station,

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I saw something terrible

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that I can't erase from my memory.

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A lifeless woman was lying on the ground,

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while an emaciated child in her arms

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just stared helplessly at his mother's face.

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But nobody helped them, because they were so focused

0:01:51.240,0:01:55.865
on taking care of themselves and their families.

0:01:55.865,0:01:59.982
A huge famine hit North Korea in the mid-1990s.

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Ultimately, more than a million North Koreans

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died during the famine, and many only survived

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by eating grass, bugs and tree bark.

0:02:11.683,0:02:14.967
Power outages also became more and more frequent,

0:02:14.967,0:02:19.324
so everything around me was completely dark at night

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except for the sea of lights in China,

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just across the river from my home.

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I always wondered why they had lights but we didn't.

0:02:29.680,0:02:34.024
This is a satellite picture showing North Korea at night

0:02:34.024,0:02:37.436
compared to neighbors.

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This is the Amrok River,

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which serves as a part of the border

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between North Korea and China.

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As you can see, the river can be very narrow

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at certain points, allowing North Koreans to secretly cross.

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But many die.

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Sometimes, I saw dead bodies floating down the river.

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I can't reveal many details [about] how I left North Korea,

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but I only can say that during the ugly years of the famine

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I was sent to China to live with distant relatives.

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But I only thought

0:03:18.190,0:03:22.477
that I would be separated from my family for a short time.

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I could have never imagined

0:03:24.169,0:03:28.662
that it would take 14 years to live together.

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In China, it was hard living as a young girl without my family.

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I had no idea what life was going to be like

0:03:36.429,0:03:38.266
as a North Korean refugee,

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but I soon learned it's not only extremely difficult,

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it's also very dangerous,

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since North Korean refugees are considered in China

0:03:49.339,0:03:52.178
as illegal migrants.

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So I was living in constant fear

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that my identity could be revealed,

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and I would be repatriated to a horrible fate

0:04:00.132,0:04:02.888
back in North Korea.

0:04:02.888,0:04:05.600
One day, my worst nightmare came true,

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when I was caught by the Chinese police

0:04:08.438,0:04:12.437
and brought to the police station for interrogation.

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Someone had accused me of being North Korean,

0:04:15.875,0:04:19.560
so they tested my Chinese language abilities

0:04:19.560,0:04:22.883
and asked me tons of questions.

0:04:22.883,0:04:25.156
I was so scared,

0:04:25.156,0:04:28.164
I thought my heart was going to explode.

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If anything seemed unnatural, I could be imprisoned

0:04:31.662,0:04:33.846
and repatriated.

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I thought my life was over,

0:04:36.293,0:04:39.532
but I managed to control all the emotions inside me

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and answer the questions.

0:04:41.490,0:04:43.662
After they finished questioning me,

0:04:43.662,0:04:45.787
one official said to another,

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"This was a false report.

0:04:47.865,0:04:49.797
She's not North Korean."

0:04:49.797,0:04:54.019
And they let me go. It was a miracle.

0:04:54.019,0:04:56.890
Some North Koreans in China seek asylum

0:04:56.890,0:04:59.213
in foreign embassies,

0:04:59.213,0:05:02.529
but many can be caught by the Chinese police

0:05:02.529,0:05:03.989
and repatriated.

0:05:03.989,0:05:06.166
These girls were so lucky.

0:05:06.166,0:05:07.782
Even though they were caught,

0:05:07.782,0:05:09.136
they were eventually released

0:05:09.136,0:05:12.484
after heavy international pressure.

0:05:12.484,0:05:15.825
These North Koreans were not so lucky.

0:05:15.825,0:05:19.740
Every year, countless North Koreans are caught in China

0:05:19.740,0:05:22.452
and repatriated to North Korea,

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where they can be tortured, imprisoned

0:05:25.986,0:05:28.777
or publicly executed.

0:05:28.777,0:05:31.881
Even though I was really fortunate to get out,

0:05:31.881,0:05:34.939
many other North Koreans have not been so lucky.

0:05:34.939,0:05:38.740
It's tragic that North Koreans have to hide their identities

0:05:38.740,0:05:42.934
and struggle so hard just to survive.

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Even after learning a new language and getting a job,

0:05:45.972,0:05:49.853
their whole world can be turned upside down in an instant.

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That's why, after 10 years of hiding my identity,

0:05:53.589,0:05:57.871
I decided to risk going to South Korea,

0:05:57.871,0:06:00.946
and I started a new life yet again.

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Settling down in South Korea was a lot more challenging

0:06:04.089,0:06:06.149
than I had expected.

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English was so important in South Korea,

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so I had to start learning my third language.

0:06:12.861,0:06:16.038
Also, I realized there was a wide gap

0:06:16.038,0:06:18.021
between North and South.

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We are all Korean, but inside,

0:06:20.198,0:06:22.038
we have become very different

0:06:22.038,0:06:25.630
due to 67 years of division.

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I even went through an identity crisis.

0:06:29.669,0:06:32.909
Am I South Korean or North Korean?

0:06:32.909,0:06:35.868
Where am I from? Who am I?

0:06:35.868,0:06:37.904
Suddenly, there was no country

0:06:37.904,0:06:43.315
I could proudly call my own.

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Even though adjusting to life in South Korea was not easy,

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I made a plan.

0:06:48.482,0:06:51.935
I started studying for the university entrance exam.

0:06:51.935,0:06:55.950
Just as I was starting to get used to my new life,

0:06:55.950,0:06:58.493
I received a shocking phone call.

0:06:58.493,0:06:59.914
The North Korean authorities

0:06:59.914,0:07:02.626
intercepted some money that I sent to my family,

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and, as a punishment, my family was going

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to be forcibly removed

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to a desolate location in the countryside.

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They had to get out quickly,

0:07:13.883,0:07:17.448
so I started planning how to help them escape.

0:07:17.448,0:07:20.930
North Koreans have to travel incredible distances

0:07:20.930,0:07:23.559
on the path to freedom.

0:07:23.559,0:07:26.382
It's almost impossible to cross the border

0:07:26.382,0:07:29.240
between North Korea and South Korea,

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so, ironically, I took a flight back to China

0:07:32.706,0:07:36.328
and I headed toward the North Korean border.

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Since my family couldn't speak Chinese,

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I had to guide them,

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somehow, through more than 2,000 miles in China

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and then into Southeast Asia.

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The journey by bus took one week,

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and we were almost caught several times.

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One time, our bus was stopped

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and boarded by a Chinese police officer.

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He took everyone's I.D. cards,

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and he started asking them questions.

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Since my family couldn't understand Chinese,

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I thought my family was going to be arrested.

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As the Chinese officer approached my family,

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I impulsively stood up, and I told him

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that these are deaf and dumb people

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that I was chaperoning.

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He looked at me suspiciously,

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but luckily he believed me.

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We made it all the way to the border of Laos,

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but I had to spend almost all my money

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to bribe the border guards in Laos.

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But even after we got past the border,

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my family was arrested and jailed

0:08:46.256,0:08:48.765
for illegal border crossing.

0:08:48.765,0:08:50.981
After I paid the fine and bribe,

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my family was released in one month,

0:08:54.570,0:08:58.386
but soon after, my family was arrested and jailed again

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in the capital of Laos.

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This was one of the lowest points in my life.

0:09:05.393,0:09:10.782
I did everything to get my family to freedom,

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and we came so close,

0:09:13.156,0:09:15.453
but my family was thrown in jail

0:09:15.453,0:09:18.997
just a short distance from the South Korean embassy.

0:09:18.997,0:09:22.023
I went back and forth between the immigration office

0:09:22.023,0:09:23.754
and the police station,

0:09:23.754,0:09:26.782
desperately trying to get my family out,

0:09:26.782,0:09:28.234
but I didn't have enough money

0:09:28.234,0:09:30.861
to pay a bribe or fine anymore.

0:09:30.861,0:09:32.655
I lost all hope.

0:09:32.655,0:09:36.356
At that moment, I heard one man's voice ask me,

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"What's wrong?"

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I was so surprised

0:09:39.444,0:09:43.377
that a total stranger cared enough to ask.

0:09:43.377,0:09:45.931
In my broken English, and with a dictionary,

0:09:45.931,0:09:49.885
I explained the situation, and without hesitating,

0:09:49.885,0:09:51.938
the man went to the ATM

0:09:51.938,0:09:54.933
and he paid the rest of the money for my family

0:09:54.933,0:09:58.997
and two other North Koreans to get out of jail.

0:09:58.997,0:10:02.401
I thanked him with all my heart, and I asked him,

0:10:02.401,0:10:04.775
"Why are you helping me?"

0:10:04.775,0:10:07.070
"I'm not helping you," he said.

0:10:07.070,0:10:10.321
"I'm helping the North Korean people."

0:10:10.321,0:10:14.819
I realized that this was a symbolic moment in my life.

0:10:14.819,0:10:18.408
The kind stranger symbolized new hope for me

0:10:18.408,0:10:21.806
and the North Korean people when we needed it most,

0:10:21.806,0:10:25.057
and he showed me the kindness of strangers

0:10:25.057,0:10:27.667
and the support of the international community

0:10:27.667,0:10:32.888
are truly the rays of hope we North Korean people need.

0:10:32.888,0:10:35.374
Eventually, after our long journey,

0:10:35.374,0:10:38.771
my family and I were reunited in South Korea,

0:10:38.771,0:10:42.225
but getting to freedom is only half the battle.

0:10:42.225,0:10:45.848
Many North Koreans are separated from their families,

0:10:45.848,0:10:48.661
and when they arrive in a new country,

0:10:48.661,0:10:52.305
they start with little or no money.

0:10:52.305,0:10:55.331
So we can benefit from the international community

0:10:55.331,0:10:58.336
for education, English language training,

0:10:58.336,0:11:00.699
job training, and more.

0:11:00.699,0:11:02.813
We can also act as a bridge

0:11:02.813,0:11:04.938
between the people inside North Korea

0:11:04.938,0:11:06.918
and the outside world,

0:11:06.918,0:11:09.642
because many of us stay in contact

0:11:09.642,0:11:12.411
with family members still inside,

0:11:12.411,0:11:14.593
and we send information and money

0:11:14.593,0:11:19.161
that is helping to change North Korea from inside.

0:11:19.161,0:11:22.198
I've been so lucky, received so much help

0:11:22.198,0:11:24.403
and inspiration in my life,

0:11:24.403,0:11:27.747
so I want to help give aspiring North Koreans

0:11:27.747,0:11:30.523
a chance to prosper

0:11:30.523,0:11:33.561
with international support.

0:11:33.561,0:11:36.047
I'm confident that you will see more and more

0:11:36.047,0:11:38.804
North Koreans succeeding all over the world,

0:11:38.804,0:11:41.155
including the TED stage.

0:11:41.155,0:11:43.777
Thank you.

0:11:43.777,0:11:53.499
(Applause)