Defector Choosing US Asylum: "Realized Illusions After Watching YouTube"

"YouTube on for just a week will break the brainwashing"

(Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] A North Korean defector has been recognized as a refugee for the first time this year and entered the United States.

According to Voice of America (VOA) on the 1st, defector A was dispatched overseas several years ago, defected, then moved to a third country and applied for asylum to the U.S. at the local American embassy. After receiving refugee status, he set foot on U.S. soil on the 31st of last month.

A confessed that he realized the illusion of the North Korean regime by watching news and various videos through YouTube and other platforms. He said, "I started to question why people have to live like this," and revealed, "I pondered for a year before deciding to escape."

He continued, "If only one YouTube video were played in North Korea for a week, all the brainwashing content would disappear," emphasizing, "I hope that somehow a lot of information can be brought into North Korea. Information that makes people realize why only we are denied the right to know and have to continue living under dictatorship, that kind of opportunity."

Based on the North Korean Human Rights Act adopted by the U.S. Congress in 2004, the total number of North Korean defectors who have received refugee status in a third country and entered the U.S. is 225, including A. This entry is the first in a year since four people?three women from one family and one man?entered in November last year.

The U.S. Department of State expressed deep concern about the human rights situation of North Korean residents inside North Korea and in neighboring countries in its '2023 Fiscal Year Refugee Admissions Program' report released last September.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.