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#WhoAmI: Across the border from North to South Korea

October 18, 2014

Ka-yeon escaped from North to South Korea, where she got a scholarship to go to university. But coming to terms with a new identity has been tough. “People around me just see me as a refugee,” she says.

https://p.dw.com/p/1DFe4
Protagonisten von Life Links Folge #WhoAmI
Image: DW/Life Links

#WhoAmI: Finding myself - Ka-yeon, South Korea

With the hope of finding a better life, Ka-yeon fled from North Korea to the South. But she wasn’t aware that by crossing the border she would have to leave her parents behind. They haven’t had contact for three years. “They probably think I’m dead,” Ka-yeon told Life Links reporter Yalda.

Adapting to a new culture in South Korea has been less than easy. She studies for a literature degree in Seoul, but because at 27 she is much older than the rest of her classmates, fitting in can be a real struggle. Being caught between two worlds when neither feels like home makes it hard for her to adapt to life in her new country.