My name is Choong.

Life in North Korea is very hard.
Working in the factory 10 hours a day.
Brainwashing for 2 hours every day.
If you didn’t do what you were told,
“They would want to make you into soap.”

Life in North Korea is very hard.

When I was 18,
I said goodbye to my parents and went south.

Life in North Korea is very hard.

You don’t leave North Korea easily.
Punishment is tough for people who try and get caught.
“Many of us were tortured and imprisoned.”

I snuck onto a train in the north.
Soldiers were everywhere,
It was hard not to get caught.

When I got off the train,
30 more miles to go.

Life in North Korea is very hard.

I met some travelers along the way,
We walked for 10 hours to the Han River.

Russian soldiers stopped us,
We gave them all the money we had
And started to swim.
We made it to the other side.

Hiding in the hills of South Korea,
I slept for the first time in days.
I rode a train to Seoul,
Where I went looking for some friends.
I made it out of North Korea,
I am free.

Life in North Korea was very hard.