“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.”

North Korean defector and activist

Lee Hyeon-seo is a North Korean defector and activist based in Seoul, South Korea. She is best known for her book, The Girl with Seven Names. She escaped North Korea and later helped guide her family out of the country through China and Laos. Her public work centers on defection, survival, and the difficult choices faced by people leaving North Korea.