How to Escape North Korea

[Music] minyang is 17 she lives in haasan a small town in North Korea it's located right at the yalu river the natural border to China across the ice Minong can see the other side freedom is so close yet so far North Korean soldiers are nearby patrolling the area M young takes a deep breath of cold air then she makes her first step onto the ice not knowing that this will be the beginning of an incredible 7-year Journey F North Korea is notorious for the oppression of its people and its poor human rights record under Kim

Jong-un it became even harder for citizens to escape there are more fences more guards and since a few years there is a new order to shoot on site yet every year hundreds of North Koreans risk their lives to flee their country weeks of grueling desert tracks months in detention camps and years in hiding all in the pursuit of Freedom geographically North Korea shares borders with Russia China and South Korea most North Korean refugees want to get to South Korea there is the shared language and cultural heritage most importantly South Korea actively welcomes defectors on the

North with a citizenship if you look at the map the direct route to South Korea might seem the easiest but in reality very few manag to escape through this path in between the countries lies a demilitarized zone and it is one of the most dangerous borders in the [Music] world oong s is one of the ones who managed to get through in 2017 he made a daring Escape through the DMZ created after the Korean War the DMZ is only demilitarized by name it is heavily fortified with armed guards constantly observing each other on a quiet

Monday afternoon the tense Silence of the DMZ is suddenly Disturbed someone is trying to escape driving a military Jeep at high speed oong s races towards the Border surveillance footage by the south Korean military captures the intense Pursuit he abandons his car and continues on Foot North Korean soldiers fire multiple shots hitting him several times but oang song manages to cross the demarcation line collapsing behind a wall on the South Korean side he endures for hours until South Korean soldiers rescue him escaping through the DMZ is extremely rare survival chances are near zero another rare

extremely dangerous Escape Route to the South is by sea somewhere along the southeast coast a North Korean man enters the ocean the man is in his mid-20s and equipped with fins and a diving suit swimming for over 6 hours and covering more than 3 km he reaches the South Korean Shore near the town of goang despite being caught on surveillance cameras South Korean forces only find him later resting under a tree he turns out to be a North Korean fisherman seeking Asylum the tides had worked in his favor presumably the man had prior knowledge of

the sea conditions without he probably would have out defecting this way too is near impossible only a handful of people have succeeded through this route similarly it is extremely rare that North Koreans defect to Russia the border is heavily guarded and the river is too deep to cross the few people publicly known for defecting to Russia are privileged or high-ranking citizens who manag to cross with the help of their [Music] connections creating 3D animations like this requires a solid understanding of physics and Mathematics a great place to develop these skills is brilliant brilliant makes learning

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annual premium subscription the link is also in the description by checking out brilliant you're not only investing in your learning you're also supporting our channel the most promising path for North Korean defectors is through China the two countries are divided by two rivers the yalu and the tumin some sections are shallow and waste deep in Winter these Rivers offer a rare opportunity the water freezes solid for those desperate enough crossing over the ice might seem deceptively simple Crossing is just the beginning the real danger lies on the Chinese side where defectors face constant threats of

capture and repatriation Min young grew up in a modest home overlooking the yalu River from her backyard she can see the hazy outline of Chinese Villages her family is relatively privileged they don't starve her father a traveling salesman frequently crosses into China for business while her mother works for the government in her free time the mother makes extra cash by trading smuggled goods from China this is a common practice for North Koreans that live near the border the poor economic conditions increasingly drive them to find additional Income Life Changes dramatically when miny young is 14

it's the year 1994 one day she returns from school to find her father missing he has been arrested on his way back from China accused of bribery and Corruption the family suspects he was tortured during his interrogation months later he dies in a hospital mang her mother and her little brother are left alone devastated disillusioned M young begins questioning the contradiction she saw around her at an early age the suffering during the famine the lies in state propaganda and the harsh realities of survival all build up to a pivotal point at the age of 17

she makes the life-changing decision to leave North Korea in under a minute she crosses to the Chinese side her heart pounding her plan is to visit relatives up north she seeks a Chinese Smuggler who lives by the river he frequently trades Goods with miny Young's mother and she trusts him he agrees to drive her into the sprawling city of Shenyang for the first time Minong experiences a world vastly different from the one she had just left behind Bright Lights bustling streets and the abundance of food and goods leaves her overwhelmed weeks go by and she

turns 18 years old she wants to return to North Korea back to her family but then she gets a sudden phone call from her mother rumors of her disappearance have spread across town people suspect she might have left the country coming back would be too dangerous now her family fears retaliation for letting M young Escape so mang's mother urges her to stay in China and live freely Mong remains in Shenyang she begins working in a restaurant and learns Mandarin she lives in constant fear of being caught and adopts several new names to evade detection one

day two men enter the restaurant they asked for her and Flash their badges it's the police they take her away it's over she thinks this is the end at the station they question her relentlessly and demand she complete a written Chinese test to prove her fluency she does so handshaking constantly at the verge of a panic attack but she passes the test it's a narrow Escape had the officers doubted her she would have been deported to North Korea without a doubt everything she risked every moment of her struggle would have been for nothing later she

learns that someone she trusted with her secret reported her to the authorities in 2002 she takes the train to Shanghai it marks the beginning of a new chapter in her life in the mega City she meets a brother broker who provides her with a new identity she spends her entire savings on this ID with it she secures a job as an interpreter at a South Korean tech company as she builds her life in Shanghai she saves money and falls in love with a South Korean man together they hatch a plan for her to seek asylum

in Soul South Korea after years of hardship bang boards a flight to South Korea she's so close to freedom but immigration officers doubt her story she spends weeks in detention she is being interrogated over and over again then finally she's granted permanent residency she made it years later minyang uses her savings to arrange the Escape of her mother and younger brother today minyang goes by the name of hayano Lee she is a human rights activist speaking out for defectors and advocating for freedom in North Kore Korea her journey took over a decade but her resilience

and courage led her to live a life free from fear we linked her book in the description minyong story is one of pain loss and perseverance But ultimately it is a testament to the unyielding Spirit of those who refuse to live in [Music] Chains for most North Korean refugees escaping through China is unavoidable but the country usually only marks the first stop the ultimate destinations are Vietnam Thailand or Mongolia all offer sanctuary and a route to Asylum in South Korea and as terrible as it sounds many Journeys to get there are much more grueling than

hyan shio Le shiun grew up near the tuman river while her story is fictional we drew on various sources to paint a realistic picture her family is extremely poor shiun works as a vendor at an unofficial Street Market the money she makes is almost entirely spent on food for the family she once believed her government's promises that the supreme leader would provide for the people not anymore one day a friend whispers about a Chinese broker who helps people cross the border for a small fee he promises shelter food and even work to shiun it sounds

like salvation maybe she could make enough money to provide for her family she and her friend agree to meet him after weeks of preparation shiun and her friend find themselves waiting by the river on a fresh Summer Night a shadowy figure emerges it's the broker the moon hides behind thick clouds and the only light comes from the distant glow of Chinese towns across the river they are ready to cross the broker leads them through the cold water shiun notices the absence of Border guards usually there are at least Le two guards patrolling this part of

the river her guess the broker has bribed them on the Chinese Shore a car awaits the broker insist shiun right ahead alone claiming her friend will follow in a different car for safety numb with adrenaline shiun hesitates but complies she hugs her friend unaware as their final goodbye as the car drives to the dark Countryside exhaustion overtakes her shiun falls asleep she wakes to a nightmare the car has stopped in a remote Village the driver tells her she's meeting her new husband his words send chills down her spine this has to be a joke but

no one seems to be joking shiun was deceived the broker has sold her to a middle-aged farmer while transiting through China many North Korean escapees fall into the hands of human traffickers in the Border regions the traffickers prey on the vulnerable promising food and jobs they Target people living in the harshest conditions once across the border hope turns to horror especially for women a 2019 South Korean report estimates that 60% of North Korean women in China fall victim to trafficking many forced into sex trade for 2 years shiun endures isolation abuse and constant surveillance it

feels like a NeverEnding nightmare she learns Mandarin and secret and scrapes together money by selling eggs always planning her Escape in the back of her head one night shiun seizes her chance with her hidden savings and a few belongings she escapes the following weeks she travels North she has no plan no direction and no one to help her after months on the run she stumbles upon a network of defectors in the Korea Town of Beijing they promised to help her reach Mongolia she knows going back to North Korea would make her a traitor this means

torture and death for her and her family she can't go back this strange far away Place seems like the only chance at a free life so she decides to go the only thing standing in her way is the GOI desert the size of Peru it is extremely hostile to humans freezing nights scorching days and no water she us joins a group of defectors and embarks on a grueling track days blur into nights as they walk through sandstorms share sips of water and little food after days of walking with almost no rest shun's feet are bleeding

only the thought of Freedom keeps her moving when they finally reach the Mongolian border the group spots a few soldiers a man from their group volunteers and approaches with a bribe in case things go south the others are still able to escape undetected shiun nervously watches as the man from her group talks to the soldiers luckily they are Mongolian and quite supportive they guide the group to a Detention Center shiun Spends months in a refugee camp before finally being granted passage to South Korea she is one of the few hundred that make it every year

one has to wonder how many more North Koreans would leave if only they could [Music]