every year over a thousand people managed to escape from one of the most secretive countries in
the world many are teenagers and young adults but some are just children or babies it's a very risky
it's very difficult we got caught by the police they told us that it was winter in the mountains
so we slept in the snow it's almost impossible for North Korean refugees to make this journey my mom
sure so free she's really brave woman for carrying a young baby in her arms to go to South Korea
for freedom these are the girls who escaped North Korea hi my name is Diane hi my name is Diana and
I was born in North Korea but they both escaped and now live and study in South Korea they go to
a school which supports them so they can cope with what they've been through young people from lots
of different backgrounds go here I came the South Korea 3-year circle I came to South Korea when I
was 2 Wow there was very little food and I felt hopeless no one helped us so I felt completely
alone in the world I came to South Korea with all my family my dad my mom and my brother circle is
part of a charity which helps people escape this is a journey that's thousands of miles
and you have to go all the way through China and if the Chinese police catch you as a North Korean
refugee they will send you back to North Korea where you may face a range of harsh punishments
and so it's very risky it's very difficult and so it's almost impossible for North Korean refugees
to make this journey without the support of some kind of organization maybe like ourselves there
was no shelter other than the mountains there was nowhere to stay we couldn't knock on anyone's door
in China because with risk being sent back we got caught by the police because someone took told on
us so my mom just like ran away with me but um it was winter in the mountains so we slept in
the snow we ate us no because we were hungry and melted it so we had water to drink although North
and South Korea are right next to each other life is very different in the two countries in North
Korea there are strict rules which control everyday life and people who live there are
expected to fully support their country's leader even if they don't want to if you're a child in
North Korea then you won't have used the internet right you won't have an access to Facebook YouTube
any kind of social media you won't know that much about the outside world you may not know about
South Korean culture kpop you know the television programs that you can watch are also just the
ones that the North Korean government allows you to watch and if you try and watch South Korean
television programs or movies from America or anywhere else then you could be punished very
harshly by the North Korean government this is all an effort by the North Korean government to
control tightly the population but increasingly people they are finding ways to break the rules
things which the government can't control like DVDs USB sticks laptops and phones are being
smuggled in and give them a glimpse of the outside world oh yes Smuggler's would sneak out to China
and bring things back like us mystics were South Korean movies on them as well as Chinese products
which are illegal in North Korea if they're caught they faced tough punishments late at night we turn
all the lights off closed the curtains and watch Korean in America movies over the last 70 years
nearly 33,000 people have managed to get out and settle in South Korea it can be tough adjusting
to life outside North Korea though I realized that I'm really lucky that I came here when I
was young and learned about war and got freedom earlier than others North Korean friends have told
me that it's like coming out of a time machine I mean you're coming 50 years into the future
and you have to learn a lot of basic modern things like how to type on a computer how to
use a cash machine even how to use a bank account you know public transport subway system buses you
know the quite advanced here in Seoul and South Korea the most surprising thing was the amount
of cars but that there are very few accidents on the roads but there are some things that
nyan misses about North Korea when I was a kid I remember playing games with my friends until late
at night we would have snowball fights play ball games and do things like hopscotch I really miss
pot but here everybody is looking at their phones and they don't really talk to each other while
they might find freedom in South Korea that comes with challenges of its own I was really afraid of
telling people that I'm a North Korean because people like people talk North Korean about bad
things like Kim Jong was so ugly and dared domin their DOS spies like whenever I hear that like I
kind of like go like oh not really but most of the people think like that I didn't even tell
my friends like my Korean friends that I'm North Korean but one day I hope I can tell
them that I'm North Korean like really bravely oh how I want toyou got it down in South Korea
you have freedom but in the north you don't have freedom that means you also don't have to take
responsibility for anything here for example if I don't work hard at school I can't go to university
and then earn a lot of money I feel like this freedom comes with massive responsibility
you