Han Song-mi tells her story at a Voices from North Korea forum at Seoul University of Foreign Studies in October, 2022. Courtesy of Freedom Speakers International

I left my home in North Korea’s countryside on Feb. 17, 2011, but the actual act of leaving North Korea was not immediate. I spent more than a month hiding in Hyesan in the home of the broker’s girlfriend, waiting for the moment I would cross the river. That waiting period felt both endless and terrifying. I wasn’t in school. I had moved around so much that I didn’t even have my own ID. I had to borrow an ID from a friend to prepare for the escape. I kept thinking about what would happen to me if I got caught.

I spent most of that month hiding in Hyesan watching Chinese TV dramas and movies. They were completely different from North Korean dramas, which only showed people fighting for the regime, praising the leadership, or suffering for the revolution. But Chinese dramas were about love, friendships, and happiness. They showed men and women laughing together, going on dates, and living freely. The people on the screen weren’t starving, and they weren’t scared of their government. I sat in front of that TV every day, mesmerized.

Then, on March 17, the broker came to see me. For weeks, I had seen him joke around, tease people, and make sarcastic comments. But that day, he didn’t smile.

"Songmi-ya," the broker said. "You will be escaping on the 19th. After you escape,........

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