Defecting from Dear Leader: Hyeonseo Lee

One evening in 1997, at 17 years of age, Hyeonseo Lee crossed the border from her country of birth, leaving behind her family and all she had ever known. There was no passport control or duty free. It was an act of absolute permanance, never to return. This was more than a simple geographical line she had crossed. It was the border between the hermit kingdom of North Korea and the rest of the world. She has journeyed since, from that youth lived under the extreme propaganda and oppression of the Kim regime, to her role as a human rights campaigner on the international stage, speaking in front of the United Nations Security Council and delivering a 2013 Ted talk which has amassed over 4 million views. She talks to us here about that past life of hardship, her perilous act of escape and ongoing struggle in comprehending a wider world which contradicts, in every way, the lies she was programmed with.

The Skinny: While growing up in North Korea under the Kim regime, how did the cracks in your belief begin to grow?

Hyeonseo: “I grew up brainwashed by the regime, like so many other North Koreans. We believed that our country was the best on the planet and that our leaders were sincerely protecting and serving us. But once I started noticing people starving and suffering around me, I began to doubt that our country was the best in the world.  Since I lived near the border with China, I was very fortunate to see Chinese TV channels secretly on my TV. It was illegal and dangerous to watch them, but I watched secretly at night by covering my windows with thick blankets. Compared to our only state-run propaganda channel in North Korea, Chinese TV was fascinating and helped me understand that there was a bigger world beyond North Korea. Ultimately, that's why I decided to leave and explore the outside world. But I could have never imagined that I would be separated from my family for over a decade and that I would undergo so many hardships on the journey to freedom.”

How long did it take to plan your escape across the border and what finally forced your decision?

“I didn't think about leaving until I was 17 years old, which is when I left the country. Since my brother was a smuggler and constantly went back and forth between China and North Korea, I didn't think it would be a big deal to leave and explore China for a little while. Since my family lived on the border we developed strong connections with the border guards, so my brother was able to conduct his smuggling business and I befriended many of the border guards as well. One of them agreed to allow me to cross the border, so I lied to my mom and told her that I was visiting a friend that night, but I actually crossed the border into China. I still regret that moment because my mother was so innocently waiting for me to return, but she could have never imagined that we would not see each other for more than a decade. It was a very painful time for both of us.”

Can you describe at all the experience of your escape?

“I will never forget the night that I escaped North Korea. My mom seemed to somehow know that I was leaving because she made a huge meal for me and my brother that evening. I had grown restless in North Korea and was so fascinated by the outside world, especially China, that I really wanted to leave for a short time. Crossing the border was totally surreal, since I knew it was illegal, but I was so young and naïve at the time. My family had relatives living in China so I went to stay with them for a short time, but because some people realised that I left North Korea, rumours started to swirl, and I couldn't quickly return, so I was essentially exiled.”

Is there any way to illustrate the feeling of finally experiencing the outside world, and also now witnessing North Korea from this new viewpoint?

“It is so shocking for me and other North Koreans who escaped to learn about the outside world. Everything that we learned in school was basically false. We learned a fake history about our leaders, and we were forced to spend so much time memorising their fake feats. When I went to China and learned the truth about my country I was utterly shocked. There were literally no words to describe how I felt. Many older generations of North Koreans still cannot believe certain lies that they were told, including that South Korea started the Korean War. [But] we grew up with so much pride for our country and our leaders, so to learn that everything was false is extremely disheartening and shocking. It is hard for the average person to imagine how it feels to realise that everything you learned was a lie. That is why so many North Korean defectors are outraged and determined to raise awareness in the international community about the plight of North Koreans as well as to enlighten North Koreans who are deprived of information under the Kim regime.”

What do you hope to achieve with your memoir, The Girl with Seven Names, and what would you like your Edinburgh International Book Festival audience to take from this story?

“Raising awareness is the most important first step in my campaign to improve human rights in North Korea and to support North Korean defectors. Even though North Korea has been abusing its people for many decades, the international community has only recently begun to awaken to this travesty. Many people around the world have contacted me to tell me that they were not fully aware of the situation in North Korea. As we raise more awareness about the situation, we also need to take concrete steps to help North Koreans. My main focus in this regard is to help North Korean defectors who have suffered so much to reach freedom. Many of them are [still] suffering and need to receive some help, as well as branch out to the international community, so my goal is to start an NGO to help promising defectors reach their full potential.”