"We saw dead bodies lying in the streets. Neighbors, kids, people I knew. But no one called it 'starvation.'"
She escaped the North Korean famine, but she was caught and sent back. This is Jihyun Park's heartbreaking story.
She escaped the North Korean famine, but she was caught and sent back. This is Jihyun Park's heartbreaking story.
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00:00My uncle died of starvation right in front of me.
00:04It was the moment I started to question everything.
00:20In 1998, I was promised a safe way out for me and my brother.
00:27My weak and starving father begged us to leave.
00:32And even though I knew it would be the last time I saw him, I agreed.
00:48When there wasn't enough to eat, the state had a simple explanation—American problems.
00:58We saw dead bodies lying in the street.
01:02Neighbors, kids, people I knew.
01:06But no one called it starvation.
01:10Just an illness.
01:13We didn't protest or blame the government because our whole lives we'd been trained not to.
01:22During this period, known as the Old East March, more than 3 million North Koreans starved to death.
01:38I'd been sex trafficked and sold to a Chinese man for 5,000 yuan.
01:44My brother was arrested and sent back to North Korea.
01:49I still don't know if he is dead or alive.
01:55For the next 6 years, I lived as a sex slave in Northeast China.
02:01It's as tragic as it is common.
02:0580% of North Korean women who escaped became victims of human trafficking.
02:11I gave birth to my son alone in my bedroom.
02:16And although it was scary, I finally had something.
02:22I was so desperately missing family.
02:37Today, I live in the UK with my husband and three children.
02:42There is a lot of interest in North Korean refugees, but we can't forget about those who are left behind.
02:50North Koreans deserve the right to live freely without the fear of torture and persecution in whichever country they choose to live in.