Ill Yong is not your typical South Korean college student
He was born in North Korea
and came here as a refugee with his family
nearly 10 years ago
We're gonna meet up with him
and hear more about his journey
from a small mountain village in North Korea
to studying at one of South Korea's elite universities
This is like the biggest subway station
Oh, oh!
He said, "I'm at the platform"
Is he on Line 3, then?
Line 3, ok
We're coming to you, then
Ok...
... still walking
I think I can get to North Korea faster
than to get down to this platform
Oh my goodness
Long time no see
How are you doing?
Good
- Good
There's too many people, huh?
So many people
Was that surprising
when you got here from North Korea
how many people there were?
Yeah, it was
What was your feeling?
Did you miss your hometown?
Were you excited to be here?
Yeah, I was excited to be here
because all my family members are here
and there's a lot of food here
But one thing I missed in my hometown is
just, friends
and the memories of that
So where are we going right now?
Now we are going to Korea University
which is my school
Ok
In North Korea,
how long did it take to get to school?
Ha, similar
An hour
Really?
An hour and fifteen minutes
By bus?
By walking
What's a better commute?
the one in Seoul or the one in North Korea?
I mean, this is more comfortable
but that one in North Korea
that was more healthier
You know?
What river is this?
It's the Hangang
the Han River
It's the biggest river in Seoul
Ok, so you go to elementary school...
On the first day at that school
I was kind of bald
Bald?
Yeah, I was bald
I wanted to look, like, stronger and sharp
So I cut away my hair
Is that normal in North Korea?
To cut your hair like that?
Yeah
That was actually my real hairstyle
in North Korea
And I just opened the door, and said,
"Hello, this is Ill Yong from North Korea,
Chongjin, Hamgyung province."
And they were surprised like,
"Who the hell is that guy?"
The other students?
Yeah
So you opened the classroom door...
Yeah, and just,
"Hello, this is Ill Yong from North Korea,
Hamgyung province" and
"What?"
"North Korea?"
"Really?"
Why did you do that?
I mean, I just being myself
I just wanted to be myself, right
I'm actually from North Korea, right?
How did the students treat you after that?
Yeah, I was kind of nervous
cause I didn't know how they're gonna treat me
But they were really cute
They asked me,
"have you tried chicken in North Korea?"
or, "do North Koreans have hamburgers there?"
and I was really,
really excited to answer that question
And after that,
we became really good friends
Let's take this one
I didn't go to school usually in North Korea
I go to maybe
one or two or three days in a month
What?
That's it?
Yeah
I had to help out with our farming
Really?
Yeah
So you would only -
it's not like every day in North Korea
you were going to elementary school
You weren't making that walk every day
Yeah
It's gonna be cold
Do you have time to take a coffee?
Yeah, of course
Ok, then I can take you to
a calm coffee shop
A calm coffee shop?
Yeah, but the taste is terrible
but the...
Well you're really selling this to me
When I was in middle school
third grade
I decided that I do have to study
Oh you decided 'it's time'?
Yeah, this is the time to study and
I wanted to be a human rights lawyer
In middle school you even knew
you wanted to be a human rights lawyer?
Yeah, yeah
Cause
until second grade
I was kind of
a bad student
but at the third grade
I realized that this is not a good life
and my friends are still starving
and they are dying in North Korea
still, now
So I decided that
I do have to do something for them
So,
"Ok, then I'm gonna study from today"
This is the building I study at
So this is Korea University?
Yeah, this is my building
Jeongyung Political Science and Economics building
So you study political science?
Yeah, I'm studying political science
Now this is like, an elite university
This is an elite university
Right, this is top three
This is top two
Top two, yeah
Did you find that
when you came to Korea University
How did students treat you
when they found out you were from North Korea?
I mean, they were really careful
I mean, they were really considerate
Do you think it made it harder to make friends
because you are North Korean?
No
Cause, yeah,
I think there's a lot of other foreigners
and other different cultures here
You're very smart but you're also studying
with some of the smartest students in South Korea
which is already one of the
smartest countries in the world
Yeah, it's really hard
Do you feel confident in class?
Nope
No?
I mean,
I'm really a confident kind of person
But when I got here
I'm not confident anymore
Really?
Yeah
Why?
They're really smart
So why did you decide to study political science
and international relations?
Because I experienced that
politics can change people's life,
how politics change the people's life
because in North Korea and South Korea
there are different political systems
and different life quality
Yeah
So,
I'm interested in those kinds of differences
As a kid in North Korea,
did you ever think that
one day you would be going to a university like this?
No, never!
Never!
Did you have dreams of going to university
when you were in North Korea?
No
Was that even possible?
I mean, it is possible but
for me it was impossible
because my grandfather
has a really bad background,
and economic bad background too
What do you mean, bad background?
Cause my grandfather
he went to political prison camps
Oh really?
Yeah
In North Korea?
Yeah, in North Korea
So we cannot go to university in North Korea
So you mean your Songbun status
Yeah Songbun
or like your social political status
was bad
so you would not have been allowed?
Yeah
If I was still in North Korea
maybe I'm gonna be a farmer
cause my father is a farmer
Yeah
Like, how does that affect you now
when you think about that?
How different life is
because you came to South Korea?
It makes me more humble
and it pushes me to go forward
The first, primary goal is
to graduate law school here
This building
This building right here?
Yeah
As you think back through everything
that you've been through, right?
Leaving North Korea when you were 12,
going to elementary school,
middle school, high school,
and now studying at Korea University,
what advice would you give
to a North Korean defector
who finds him or herself
in the same place you were?
You can do it too
As I did
Cool
Let's get a quick picture
just like halfway up the hill