1.What was life like in North Korea?
When I lived in North Korea I didn't know much about the outside countries. we have never seen outside movies. we only watched North Korean movies and Kim family documentaries. North Korea is a distributed country so everyone has a different amount as the government gave us food so housewives get 300g , workers 700-900g , high school and university 400-600g. when people take this amount of food and divide it for 15 days and 3 meals it not that much food so we always stay hungry. but we never complained about this to our parents or anyone because this is a government rule.
no biscuits no sweet or desert this is only Kim- ii-sung birthday it they give us a gift of 1kg of biscuit and sweet. early in the 1990s government stopped us the support so people died starving .we see dead bodies everywhere. At that time we got informed my uncle is ill so we went to see him when I saw him I was shocked. so look closer at him he's only skin and bones. because he was starving so he stayed at our home for seven days then he passed away. after watching him die in front of me I was silent. but I loved him so much when my parents were busy he always tell us nighttime stories. so at the time, I got a lot of questions that why have we respected the Kim family? but we couldn't ask this question.
2.My first escape.
At that time I wanted to leave this country with my father but my father health condition was not good . so I waited until he got better. but day by day his health condition gets worse. that time my father told me to save my younger brother and leave this country. I listened to my father and left North Korea. I and my brother met near the china border. between China and North Korean border, there is a river only 25 meters long and it was winter so the river was frozen. I and my brother run quickly we were at half of the river we heard somebody saying stop stop they gun-fire us but we already crossed the border we crossed the border at midnight 2am. we walked for about half an hour and knocked in a house it's a Chinese Korean house. they give us a bowl of rice and boiled egg I was shocked I thought isn't china is a poor country. then they told us it not a safe place for us there is gunfire already on North Korea side in the morning may be Chinese authorities can come here for a search so if we want to stay safe I have to marry a Chinese man. then my brother told me sister you have to go I can survive here don't think about me. so they sold me to a farmer and married him. but my brother didn't survive in china he sent back to North Korea it been 20 years but I still don't know that he is survived or died.
the Chinese farmer who bought me his mother told me they borrowed a lot of money and bought me from them now go outside and work hard and paid off the money so I woke up early in the morning and work till 11pm but still they only give me to eat rice and kimchi. I got my mind that I didn't want this life. this life is the slavery life again in North Korea. so I thought of suicide because I didn't save my brother and lost all my family. but one day I found out I was pregnant. after a lot suffer I gave birth to my child. I was happy because he is my family and he gave me hope for life. when my child was 100 days old my husband got too much drunk and came the home and tell me he wants to sell my child I stand up and caught a knife and said if you touch my child I will kill and then I left that house.
3.I was arrested and sent back to North Korea
For five years I stayed in China and moved to a lot of places many areas I couldn't stay in one area because they know about me. one day at midnight I worked at market and came back home in a few moments later 10 Chinese authorities came to my home and arrest me in front of my son. my heart was beating so first. I have known it if I was arrested I will be sent back to North Korea and id face execution or sent to the prison camp. that time my child asked me mommy why have you abandoned me why are you leaving me? I didn't say no no I was crying and though he is only 5 and he is thinking that I am abandoning him I felt so bad. at that time I sent back to North Korea secretive prison camp.
this is how it looks like the prison camp, in there we usually sat 50 or 60 people in a small room. 40 women use only one toilet we used the toilet in a bucket there is no light so we cant understand when is night or day. one day I found out my leg was injured some people told me it smells like a dead body. that time I fixed my mind to get out from here. At that time there is a baker who usually sold Korean girls to Chinese for sex slavery I was agreed with him at that time he was not known about my leg was injured.
4.My second escape
so we left prison camp we were 4 members there were 2 more women with us at that time we wait in big grass until night so we cross the border at that time .but there was also danger which village we get inside there are people don't go work they just find North Korean if they handed them to Chinese authorities they got a lot of money. so we have to careful for staying safe from them we walk to the hill but as my leg was injured I feel pain so there was a taxi crossing we took it but that taxi driver also asking us a lot of question that why they are scared not talking I can speak Chinese so I replied him the younger girl is my sister she can't talk and that old man is my father he is not that condition to talk and that women are mu aunty then he asked where are you going not at this time I show him led that we were walking the hill and a snake bite my lag he said that so let me drive first so after that we came in the safe side in the morning I say them I had a son here so they gave me a phone to talk to my son then I called an old number luckily my son pick it the call I said son its mummy he said mummy I cried and he also cried every one listen the crying sound that room so that old man said yesterday night you safes our life so now you can go to your son I will not sell you. I thank him so much and go to my son after 9 months later I meet with a Korean ambassador who help me and my son to go to the USA then the USA government sent us to the UK now I am still staying here with my son happily. but I am still sad for my brother I am still trying to know about my brother that he is safe or not I am really grateful to that ambassador and the USA government that they save our life