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Witness
Hana's Story
An insight into the life of a North Korean defector struggling to adjust to a new world.
Last Modified: 18 Jun 2009 13:47 GMT

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On a late May evening in central Seoul, 19-year old Hana stares at the kaleidoscope of huge colourful neon lights above her, shining through the darkness.

Such bright night lights did not exist in the isolated country of her birth, North Korea.

Last year, Hana risked her life to defect. Using an underground network of humanitarian workers through China, Laos, and Thailand, she eventually made it to Seoul.

Hana then spent a mandatory three months in an education facility, learning how to operate a microwave and an ATM, along with lessons on human rights, capitalism, and the Korean war.

Today, like 10,000 other North Korean defectors in South Korea, she is free and trying to build a new life. But many North Korean defectors find it difficult to adjust to their new world.

Often traumatised by their past experiences, they miss family still living in the North. Fuelled by rumours that they would be rich overnight in South Korea, they struggle in new jobs and in a society where not everyone is equal.

And often they are not welcomed by the native citizens who perceive them as "enemies", lazy, dependent and selfish. Hana realises if she wants to be successful, she will have to work for it. Will she make it?

The film is looking at the life of 19-year old Hana, one of a growing number of defectors from North Korea struggling to adjust to life in the South.

Source:
Al Jazeera
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