John David - The girl with seven names: a North Korean defectors story

CONTENTS

H YEONSEO L EE lived in North Korea until her escape in 1997. In 2008, she came to Seoul where she now lives and has recently graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. As a student, she was a Young Leader at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a journalist at the Ministry for Unification and a selected member of the 'English for the Future' programme at the British Embassy in Seoul. She now campaigns internationally for North Korean human rights and refugee issues, speaking all over the world, including at the UN and the Oslo Freedom Forum. Her 2013 TED talk has had over 4 million views and was described by Oprah Winfrey as the most inspirational TED talk ever.

D AVID J OHN is a writer and editor who has lived in Seoul and has spent time in North Korea. His first novel, Flight from Berlin, was published by HarperCollins in 2012.

Stirring and brave true, committed, unvarnished and honest. Lee has made her own life the keyhole to the present, inside and outside of North Korea Scotsman

Remarkable bravery fluently recounted Kirkus

Hyeonseo Lee brought the human consequences of global inaction on North Korea to the worlds doorstep Against all odds she escaped, survived, and had the courage to speak out

Samantha Power, US representative to the United Nations

I have spoken with countless numbers of defectors over the years. When I first met Hyeonseo Lee, the unflinching manner in which she told her story, although full of sadness and hurt, was inspirational. That is the story now written in this book Every time she navigated treacherous terrain and overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles, she had to change her name to protect her new identity. She became the Girl with Seven Names But one thing that she held on to was her humanity, ever stronger as she continuously sublimated her hardships into hope

Jang Jin-sung, founder of New Focus International and author of Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, EscapeeA Look Inside North Korea

This is a powerful story of an escapee from North Korea. In the hallowed meeting rooms of the United Nations in New York, ambassadors from North Korea recently sought to shout down stories like this. But these voices will not be silenced. Eventually freedom will be restored. History will vindicate Hyeonseo Lee and those like her for the risks they ran so that their bodies and their minds could be free. And so that we could know the truth

The Honourable Michael Kirby, Chair of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights Abuses in North Korea, 201314

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This book would not have been possible without the support of many people around me.

Primarily, I want to thank my family for always being by my side. The separation from my mom and brother was heartbreaking, so Im eternally grateful that they had the courage to risk their lives and leave their homeland in order for us to reunite. My husband, Brian, has also been a constant source of love and encouragement.

The dedicated team of professionals around me have been essential in the production of this memoir. Ive been fortunate to have had the guidance of my literary agent, Kelly Falconer, my speaking agent, Oliver Stoldt, and all the wonderful people at HarperCollins who have always believed in me and the importance of sharing my story.

Additionally, I must thank my co-writer, David John, for his effort and dedication, as well as my good friend, Mike Breen, who enhanced the book by sharing his invaluable insights on the Korean Peninsula.

Finally, I want to thank the people at TED for caring about my story and making me the first North Korean to speak on the TED stage. I also owe a debt of gratitude to all the people around the world who have enthusiastically encouraged me and continue to help me raise awareness about North Korean human rights.

To protect relatives and friends still in North Korea, I have changed some names in this book and withheld other details. Otherwise, all the events described happened as I remembered or was told about them.

One morning in the late summer of 1977, a young woman said goodbye to her sisters on the platform of Hyesan Station and boarded the train for Pyongyang. She had received official permission to visit her brother there. She was so excited shed slept little the night before. The Capital of the Revolution was, to her mind, a mythic and futuristic place. A trip there was a rare treat.

The air was still cool and smelled of fresh lumber from the nearby mill; the humidity was not yet too high. Her ticket was for a window seat. The train set off, creaking slowly southward along the old Hyesan Line through steep pine-clad mountains and over shaded gorges. Now and then a white-water river could be glimpsed far below. But as the journey progressed she found herself being distracted from the scenery.

The carriage was full of young military officers returning to the capital in high spirits. She thought them annoying at first, but soon caught herself smiling at their banter, along with the other passengers. The officers invited everyone in the carriage to join them in playing games word games and dice games to pass the time. When the young woman lost a round, she was told that her forfeit was to sing a song.

The carriage fell quiet. She looked down at the floor, gathered her courage, and stood up, keeping herself steady by holding on to the luggage rack. She was twenty-two years old. Her shiny black hair was pinned back for the journey. She wore a white cotton frock printed with small red flowers. The song she sang was from a popular North Korean movie of that year called The Story of a General. She sang it well, with sweet, high notes. When she finished, everyone in the carriage broke into a round of applause.

She sat back down. A grandmother was sitting on the outside seat and her granddaughter sat between them. Suddenly a young officer in a grey-blue uniform was standing over them. He introduced himself with great courtesy to the grandmother. Then he picked up the little girl, took the seat next to the young woman, and sat the little girl on his lap.

Tell me your name, was the first thing he said.

This was how my mother met my father.

He sounded very sure of himself. And he spoke with a Pyongyang lilt that made my mother feel uncouth and coarse with her northern Hyesan accent. But he soon put her at her ease. He was from Hyesan himself, he said, but had spent many years in Pyongyang and was ashamed to admit to her that he had lost his accent. She kept her eyes lowered but would steal quick glances at him. He wasnt handsome in the conventional way he had thick eyebrows and strong, prominent cheekbones but she was rather taken with his martial bearing and his self-assurance.