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Lee Hyeon-seo Quotes
Lee Hyeon-seo Quotes
Lee Hyeon-seo
South Korean
Writer
Born:
1980
Country
Life
Me
People
World
You
Related authors:
Ayn Rand
Dr. Seuss
H. L. Mencken
Napoleon Hill
Niccolo Machiavelli
Thomas Mann
Thomas Paine
Voltaire
In communism, we never had any freedom - of movement, of speech, of press. We didn't even make own decisions for our lives, our future. We were human robots.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Future
Freedom
Communism
Own
Our
Our Lives
Press
Never
Had
Make
Robots
Were
Any
Human
Movement
Decisions
Even
Lives
Speech
My favourite place in South Korea is Jeju Island: it's a tropical paradise with sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and the magnificent Geomunoreum lava tube system of underground caves.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Paradise
Waters
System
Favourite
Favourite Place
Beaches
Magnificent
Tropical
Underground
Island
Korea
South
Caves
South Korea
Tube
Place
Sandy
Turquoise
Keeping families and friends divided is unforgivable.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Divided
Friends
Families
Keeping
It was really tiring always pretending to be someone else. Not my life, not my real name, nothing.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Life
Pretending
My Life
Nothing
Else
Someone
Name
Always
Real
Real Name
Tiring
Really
People who live in North Korea, they die for food, but living in the free world, the cat even eats expensive sushi.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Food
People
World
Free
Live
Living
Eats
Cat
Free World
Korea
North
Die
North Korea
Sushi
Expensive
Who
Even
North Korea is not the dictator's country; it's 25 million citizens' country, and they are suffering under the dictator. North Koreans are really nice, kind, pure people. I hate the dictator and the regime, but I love my home country.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Love
Home
Suffering
Hate
People
Pure
Country
Nice
Kind
Citizens
Korea
Koreans
Dictator
North
North Korea
Regime
Really
Million
Because North Korea was so totally cut off, we didn't hear anything of the outside world. We had only one TV channel, which showed only propaganda, and we believed everything.
Lee Hyeon-seo
World
Channel
Everything
TV
Propaganda
Totally
Only
Outside
Outside World
Had
Because
Korea
Hear
Off
North
North Korea
Anything
Which
Cut
Believed
We always had power shortages in the country. I was living right next to the border with China, and it was the only country I could compare to my own. When I looked across the river, it was a completely different world - there were no people dying. It looked like a place full of colour, and that's what confused me.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Me
People
Confused
World
Power
Country
Own
Living
Border
My Own
Only
Only Country
Could
Colour
River
Had
Like
Looked
Always
Were
Different
Dying
Place
China
Shortages
Next
Across
Full
Compare
Different World
Right
The TED talk I gave, that gave me another character I didn't know about. I'm not saying the mind of a hero, but a kind of responsibility. Every word I'm speaking, it's not from myself. I'm speaking for and representing the people of communist North Korea.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Saying
Myself
Character
Me
People
Word
Hero
Mind
Responsibility
Every
Gave
Kind
About
Know
Talk
Another
Korea
North
North Korea
Representing
Communist
Speaking
Ted
We were all blocked from western media, outside information. We were captured in a virtual prison cell. People would disappear in the middle of the night - not every day, but sometimes. We hear about it, and we never knew what happened inside the prison camps. I learned about them after I escaped.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Day
Every Day
People
Sometimes
Prison
Every
Virtual
Would
Inside
About
Outside
Never
Disappear
Knew
Learned
Blocked
Were
Hear
Western
Camps
Escaped
Cell
Middle
After
Happened
Information
Them
Captured
Media
Night
My family lived under communism their entire lives. When they arrived in South Korea, they didn't even know how to use the bank system and ATM or the subway, nothing.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Family
Communism
Nothing
System
ATM
Entire
Entire Lives
Know
How
Korea
Arrived
South
South Korea
Bank
Subway
Use
Even
Lived
Lives
When I was little, I thought my country was the best on the planet. And I grew up singing a song called 'Nothing To Envy.' And I was very proud. In school, we spent a lot of time studying the history of Kim Il-Sung, but we never learned much about the outside world, except that America, South Korea, Japan are the enemies.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Time
Best
History
Song
World
School
Envy
Enemies
Thought
Country
Singing
Nothing
Spent
Kim
About
Except
Outside
Never
Outside World
Studying
Learned
Proud
Korea
South
Lot
Up
South Korea
Very
America
The History Of
Grew
Little
Japan
Much
Planet
When I was growing up, my mum was doing illegal smuggling with China. Sometimes she would see a fortune teller for advice. One time I went with her: 'In your future, you'll be living in foreign country and eating the foreign country rice,' she said.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Future
Time
You
Sometimes
Country
Advice
Living
Teller
Would
One Time
See
Eating
She
Said
Foreign
Foreign Country
Doing
Smuggling
Up
China
Rice
Your
Fortune
Illegal
Growing
Growing Up
Mum
Her
I defected to South Korea in search of freedom of speech and movement. I had longed to put my feet on this soil, even in my dreams.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Dreams
Freedom
Soil
Freedom Of Speech
Had
Put
Feet
Korea
South
South Korea
Movement
Search
Even
Speech
If defectors say they had high-level connections in Pyongyang or came from an esteemed institution in the North, they can gain better employment in the South, where life can be very difficult for North Koreans.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Life
Better
Difficult
Say
Had
Institution
Employment
Koreans
Came
South
Very
North
Where
Esteemed
Gain
Connections
I think it's possible that China is ready for a serious change regarding its North Korean defector policy. Chinese people are starting to realize that so many defectors have been suffering in China, and it doesn't have to be this way.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Change
Suffering
People
Think
Way
Possible
Policy
Ready
Korean
Been
North
North Korean
Regarding
China
Chinese
Chinese People
Realize
Many
Serious
Starting
A huge famine hit North Korea in the mid-1990s. Ultimately, more than a million North Koreans died during the famine, and many only survived by eating grass, bugs, and tree bark.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Grass
Tree
Eating
More
Only
Bugs
Korea
Koreans
Ultimately
Huge
Hit
Than
Survived
North
North Korea
Died
Famine
Bark
Many
Million
I've been so lucky, received so much help and inspiration in my life, so I want to help give aspiring North Koreans a chance to prosper with international support.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Life
My Life
Give
Inspiration
Support
Prosper
Koreans
Been
North
Want
Much
Aspiring
Help
International
Lucky
Received
Chance
I don't hate the Chinese. We're brothers, and we share a border. I just hate the government, politicians, policies, not the people.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Government
Hate
People
Politicians
Border
Brothers
Share
Policies
Just
Chinese
Many Chinese criticize me not only on Baidu but on Facebook. Some say, do you think Chinese authorities were stupid enough not to realize you were a North Korean defector? If they read my book, they'd understand. I did my best to escape. I think it's all a miracle. It's not because Chinese policemen were stupid enough to believe my fake story.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Best
Me
You
Facebook
Book
Stupid
Believe
Think
Enough
Say
Criticize
Some
Miracle
Only
Policemen
Read
Because
Understand
Fake
Korean
Were
Escape
North
Authorities
Did
North Korean
Story
Chinese
Realize
Many
We refugees, we become always a punchbag. A political punchbag between China and South Korea and North Korea.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Political
Become
Between
Always
Korea
South
South Korea
North
North Korea
Refugees
China
The moment I escaped to China, I didn't have any money; I only had one address in my hand of some long-distance Chinese relatives. I didn't know China was that big. I thought I can find their home very easily, and I would come back one week later. But then I found out the address was a 10-hour drive away.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Home
Money
Relatives
Thought
Drive
Big
Back
Address
Later
Easily
Out
Would
Find
Some
Only
Week
Had
Long-Distance
Come
Know
Hand
Very
Escaped
Any
China
Chinese
Then
Moment
Found
Away
I just wanted to see China with my own eyes. I wanted to see whether North Korea was the best country in the world or China was the best. I grew up believing that China was much worse than North Kore, because that's what the regime told us.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Best
Eyes
World
Country
Own
Worse
See
My Own
Because
Korea
Up
Than
North
North Korea
Just
Wanted
Grew
Whether
Regime
China
Us
Much
Believing
In North Koreans, the moment we are born, we don't know there's another life existing outside of our country. The regime always told us all the bad things about the outside world, describing America as full of thieves, all human scum, beggars, everyday people dying on the streets and hospitals.
Lee Hyeon-seo
Life
People
World
Bad Things
Country
Thieves
Everyday
Everyday People
Our
Bad
Born
About
Hospitals
Outside
Outside World
Know
Another
Always
Koreans
Existing
Beggars
North
America
Human
Dying
Regime
Us
Full
Moment
Describing
Things
Streets
Hyesan people have money, the most after those in Pyongyang, because it's near the border with China. Illegal smuggling businesses and Chinese trading companies operate there, so people can access outside products.
Lee Hyeon-seo
People
Money
Those
Border
Outside
Most
Operate
Because
Access
Trading
Smuggling
After
China
Chinese
Products
Illegal
Businesses
Companies
Near
When I was 14, during Kim Il-sung's funeral, I wondered, 'How could a god die?'
Lee Hyeon-seo
God
Kim
Could
How
Wondered
Die
Funeral
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