Humans of North Korea: This is freedom
I got foreign media from my dad. He was a member of the Korean Workers Party and many of his friends were security agents. They confiscated a lot of foreign media and gave it to my dad and he would bring it home.
Some of my most vivid memories are getting together with my friends at someone’s house, shutting off all the lights, and secretly watching South Korean dramas. It was exhilarating. If you heard anything outside, you’d get startled and think,
“Did they come to arrest us? Are we going to jail now?” It was thrilling doing things we knew we shouldn’t do.
Everything portrayed in the South Korean dramas was so clean and everyone seemed so wealthy. I used to think “Wow, there is such a world out there.” We were taught that South Korea was a poor country but I wondered, “Why can’t we live like that?”
I wanted to wear clothes from the dramas but I couldn’t find them anywhere. We used to get a lot of used clothes from the market down by the harbor. You either find used clothes or fabric and have a tailor make the outfit for you. After three or four days of wearing a new style, everyone would be wearing the same thing because it looked so cool.
My designs were very popular. If I started wearing something new, there was always someone who would wear similarly styled clothes because the number of South Korean dramas that inspired us was so limited. Girls would ask me where I got my clothes and if I wanted to exchange outfits. Bartering was very common and sometimes they’d offer their more expensive clothes in exchange for mine.
But you had to look out for the Inspection Unit. If they caught you wearing jeans and a hoodie, they’d cut the bottom of the jeans with scissors. My sister and brother were older than me so their friends were sometimes in the Inspection Unit. If I knew the person, I would just tell them, “I’ll go change right now” or “I’ll give you these jeans but please don’t cut the bottoms off” and I would go get it back from them later.
The regime doesn’t want people wearing those kinds of clothes. I think it’s because things like jeans symbolize freedom. North Korean society is so restricted that if they allowed jeans there would be no end to what people would want to wear.
Even now in South Korea, every time I put on a pair of jeans I think, “This is freedom.”
- Jihyun Kang escaped North Korea in 2009. She now works in the fashion industry in Seoul.
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North Korean Fellows in the United States: Meet the Class of 2025
Please join us in welcoming Hannah and Rose, LiNK’s 2025 Advocacy Fellows!
The Advocacy Fellows program partners with young North Korean defectors to build their skills as effective leaders, storytellers, and agents of change for this issue. Hannah and Rose spent the last month training and preparing with our team in South Korea, and will now be traveling across the US to share their stories!
Join us at a Fellows speaking event near you!
Dallas, TX
September 9th, 6pm
Southern Methodist University | Dallas Hall Room 306 (McCord Auditorium)
3225 University Blvd, Dallas TX 75205
RSVP Here
Guest parking information here
Waco, TX
September 11th, 6pm
Baylor University, Foster Campus | Room 240
1621 S 3rd St, Waco, TX 76706
RSVP Here
Parking: 1521 S Fourth St. Waco,TX 76706 (Google maps or Apple Maps)
Madison, WI
September 16th, 12pm
UW-Madison | Lubar Commons (Room 7200)
975 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI 53706
RSVP here
Evanston, IL
September 20th, 5pm
Northwestern University | Harris Hall 107
1881 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL 60201
RSVP Here
Palo Alto, CA
September 28th, 1:20pm
True North Church
655 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306
RSVP Here
Berkeley, CA
September 29th, 6pm
UC Berkeley | Stephens Lounge at the MLK Student Union
2495 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
Parking: Lower Sproul Garage
RSVP Here
Washington, D.C.
October 8th, 1pm ET
The Stimson Center
1211 Connecticut Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20036
RSVP Here
*Online livestream also available: RSVP Here
Washington, D.C
October 9th, 10:30am
ET Hudson Institute
1201 Pennsylvania Ave N.W. Suite 400 Washington, DC 20004
RSVP Here
Philadelphia, PA
October 13th, 5:30pm
University of Pennsylvania
3401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
RSVP Here
New York, NY
October 16th, 2025, 12 PM
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
RSVP here
Los Angeles, CA
October 21st, 7:30pm
UCLA
Haines Hall Room A2 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Parking available in UCLA Parking Structure 2
RSVP here
Additional details and timely updates will be sent to RSVP’ed guests via email.
Hannah is a 4th year student at Hongik University studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering. While participating in LiNK’s Changemaker Scholarship Program, she worked on developing devices and strategies that increase information access for people inside North Korea. Her goal as an Advocacy Fellow is to grow as a leader and communicator, and facilitate more collaborative work on this issue.
Rose graduated from Hongik University’s Department of Architecture. For her final project, she designed a memorial to honor North Korean human rights and provide comfort to defectors who had to leave their homeland. She drew inspiration from the Holocaust and 9/11 Memorials in the US, and was deeply moved by how such spaces contribute to healing and progress. As an Advocacy Fellow, Rose hopes to continue finding her identity and increase interest in this issue.
