The woman, identified only as Ji-young to protect her family still inside North Korea, described a multi-year escape that took her through freezing rivers, treacherous mountain paths, and multiple arrests before finally reaching South Korea earlier this year.
“I knew I would either die trying or live in chains for the rest of my life,” she said in an exclusive interview. “There was no future for me in North Korea. No freedom. No food. Just fear.”
Born in a rural province near the Chinese border, Ji-young grew up under extreme government surveillance. She recalls frequent public executions, forced labor, and near-starvation conditions. At 18, she was arrested for possessing a smuggled South Korean drama on a USB stick—a crime punishable by years in a labor camp.
After her release, she decided to flee.
Crossing the heavily guarded Tumen River into China in the dead of night, Ji-young relied on smugglers to guide her through a loosely connected underground network. But her ordeal was far from over. Caught twice by Chinese authorities, she was detained and forcibly returned to North Korea, where she was subjected to brutal interrogations and confined in a detention center.
“I was treated like an animal. They beat us, starved us, and made us feel worthless,” she said. “I watched people die in those cells.”
A second escape attempt proved more successful. With the help of a South Korean NGO and local sympathizers, Ji-young traveled thousands of kilometers through China, Laos, and Thailand before arriving safely in Seoul.
Human rights organizations estimate that as many as 30,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the end of the Korean War. But the journey is growing increasingly difficult, with China stepping up border security and punishing those who aid defectors.
“Each story of escape reminds the world of the cruelty inside North Korea,” said Park Ji-hyun, a South Korean activist and former defector. “But it also shows the strength of the human spirit.”
Now 27, Ji-young is studying Korean literature and hopes to become a journalist.
“I want to tell the truth,” she said. “Not just about my escape—but about the people who are still there, waiting for the world to hear them.”