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My name's Anthony Padilla, and today I'll be spending a day with North Korean defectors

to learn the truth about being born in a country with a severe and isolated dictatorship,

the lengths they went to escape, and the struggles of adapting to an entirely new world and concept of freedom.

By the end of this video, we'll find out if these escapees have been able to approach life

outside of North Korea with a sense of hope, or if living through the torturous nightmare

that was once the reality has proven far too traumatic

for them to ever find a true sense of peace.

Hello Lucy! Hi!

Sherry! Hi, Andrea.

Do you feel like you're risking your safety by coming on here and speaking about your escape story, knowing that authority in North Korea could potentially see this video?

I would be very scared, but right now I am a citizen of South Korea, so I'm very protected

over this government.

My father got tortured in North Korean prison

and he suffered all his life.

My mom's sister, recently, she was sent to prison and she got tortured cruelly and now she's in a serious condition.

Now my mom and my sister supported me to speak out against the regime. This is meaningful work for our people in North Korea.

I feel like most people watching have no idea what North Korea is really like.

Can you explain the extents of the strict rules and repression that North Korean citizens face?

North Korea has countless ridiculous rules

...