North Korean defectors reveal New Year's resolutions

Jihyun, arrived in the UK in 2008

When I was in North Korea, we had to listen closely to the yearly address by Kim Il-sung or Kim Jong-il. Then, on January 3, we had to prove in self-criticism sessions that we had understood. It wasn't our personal wishes or dreams we had to think about when a new year started. When I was young, we would share food and spend time with our neighbors around the New Year. It was considered to be a curse when women visited neighbors first, so men would go first. During the 1990s, the customs of sharing food and giving money disappeared because of the famine.

Eunhee, arrived in South Korea in 2012

It wasn't unusual for North Koreans to make New Year's resolutions, but I didn't. I didn't think about the next year or the future when I was in North Korea. I only thought about tomorrow. I need food tomorrow. I need to survive tomorrow. Now I am free, so I can think about my own life. My New Year's resolution for next year is to settle down well, keep improving my English and to live a happy life.

Sujin, arrived in South Korea in 2014

I had no New Year's resolutions when I was in North Korea, but I had one constant resolution in mind every day: To escape from the hell of North Korea. Every year, every day, I was thinking, "How can I escape?" I had no hope. I am from the countryside, so I had realized that I was destined to be a farmer like my father. I wanted to change my life's destiny.

My resolution in 2017 was to get a driver's license; I was so happy when I got it. I also wanted to learn English. I was struggling until I found TNKR (Teach North Korean Refugees). Next year, I will continue learning English. I hope my parents will be able to arrive safely. They tried to escape from North Korea, but they have been missing since May.

Collected by Casey Lartigue Jr., co-founder of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR) in Seoul.