# North Korean Defector on Adjusting to Life in South Korea - Original post: https://www.twitter.com/i/status/2117308051757654360 - Source account: [@ThayzzySmith](https://x.com/ThayzzySmith) - Source language: English - Duration: 3:38 - Published: 2026-11-03 - Canonical URL: https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea ## Transcript [0:00](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea) Get to South Korea. Mm. And then what happens? [0:03](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=3) And then what happens, I I hear about this thing called freedom. [0:09](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=9) And then hear about this country is obsessed with competition and hard work and studying. [0:16](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=16) The, the vigorous academia that these kids study English in- when they're in their mother's tummy right? [0:25](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=25) Yeah. And they study like crazy people. Yeah. [0:28](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=28) And then I'm like, almost like, you know, high schooler, and they did a placement test on me, and I'm like, I need to go study with the seven years old. I don't even know what continents are, right? [0:40](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=40) I don't even know what Africa is. Right. [0:42](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=42) I don't even know what different race is. I don't even know the map. [0:46](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=46) So I'm like blank page, like adult baby. [0:50](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=50) Mm. Adult baby. Yeah. And how old are you? [0:53](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=53) I was Korean age was 17. You were 17. Mm-hmm. [0:56](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=56) But you were really about 10 years behind. [0:57](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=57) Like, yeah. At least. At least, at least. [1:00](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=60) Yeah. That's what it is. And so what kind of education did they give you in South Korea? [1:05](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=65) They d- they told us that South Korea was free country, that Americans are not bastards. [1:13](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=73) 'Cause they told Americans were cold-blooded snakes in North Korea. [1:18](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=78) Mm. So I remember one of my friend I took to South Korea, she was a White lady. [1:22](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=82) My mom got drunk with soju and touching her, right? [1:26](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=86) And then like, "I just wanna make sure that you are, like, actually warm-blooded." [1:30](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=90) 'Cause that's what they... And in school we have a posters Americans. We d- Posters ... 'cause we don't have actual pictures of them. Good. [1:38](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=98) So our enemy is Americans, right? Right. [1:39](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=99) They are like our sworn enemy, so we gotta know who they or how they look like. [1:43](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=103) So they are cold-blooded, huge nose and blue eyes, green eyes, monsters. [1:51](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=111) It's like- Wow. Yeah. So what... So where did they educate you in South Korea? [1:57](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=117) There's a re-education center. Oh, so they have a place where they take in people from North Korea? [2:02](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=122) Yeah, for three month. So they, so they t- take you to ATM machine. So, like, we never had a bank in North Korea, right? Like, i- in the past I heard there was a bank, but regime ask you to put the money in, they don't give the money back to you. [2:17](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=137) Mm. So nobody uses bank in North Korea. So I literally thought ATM machine, there's somebody inside the machine handing the money out to you through the window 'cause I don't know automation. [2:28](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=148) Right. And they teach you how to take a bus, how take, how to even, like, go to movie theater, order a ticket, 'cause we never seen the digital devices. [2:37](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=157) You know? Wow. How to take the elevator. Like, what is escalator, you know what I mean? [2:41](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=161) Oh, wow. So you just landing in a complete different planet. [2:45](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=165) What is that like? Overwhelming. It's very... [2:50](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=170) Having that choice, like even you go shopping and you have 10 different pants, right? And it's up to you to choose what you wear, and in North Korea it was, like, chosen by the regime. [3:01](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=181) Freedom was difficult. I was literally saying, if I had enough frozen potato, had at least minimum food to eat, I would go back to North Korea. [3:10](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=190) Really? Yeah. Why? 'Cause I was not used to thinking. Thinking was hard, right? [3:17](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=197) Thinking was not something I'm used to. Like, I never had to think. [3:22](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=202) But not only that, you have to think for yourself, what do you wanna do with your life? And I was like, "Do I have to know? [3:28](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=208) Can't you just not tell me what I need to do?" 'Cause I'm so good at following the orders. But they call, like, in South Korea s- they were asking me, "So what do you wanna do? [3:36](https://www.translate.mom/transcript/smlnHuUNyIn6/en/north-korean-defector-on-adjusting-to-life-in-south-korea?t=216) And what do you think-"