Only a few thousand families live a privileged life in North Korea. Hee Yeon Lim’s family was among those that experienced life better than the 25 million North Koreans. The majority of Noth Koreans are being starved by the country’s tyrannical leader Kim Jong-un, she told the Mirror (UK). In light of the North Korean despot threatening the United States, Hee Yeon wanted to share revelations about her life and Kim’s indulgences. Her goal is to expose the North Korean dictator who is “dangerously clashing” with President Donald Trump.
The 26-year-old’s father was Colonel Wui Yeon Lim of the Korean People’s Army.
Despite her father’s high-ranking position, Hee Yeon believed she had to escape the country and did so with her grandmother’s ingenuity and the country’s “bribe economy.”
Hee Yeon’s 51-year-old father died five years ago, so she fled North Korea in 2015 and made it to Seoul, South Korea in 2016 – with her younger brother and her mother. The Mirror noted that Hee Yeon is risking her life by relaying her insights. Her name was changed and her exact location remains undisclosed.
Life of privilege lost, but threat of Kim Jong-un’s cruelty lifted with defection
While Hee Yeon knew that by fleeing North Korea it also meant her life of privilege was in her past. If she stayed in her native country, the threat of Kim Jong-un’s cruelty would remain ever-present in her life.
There was constant terror around the corner, the Mirror wrote.
Hee Yeon’s family lived in a three-bedroom, detached state home. They also had a military car with a driver, who was her father’s aide, a uniformed soldier, and he always on-call. She said that she was driven to and from school every day in a brown Chinese-made SUV owned by the state.
The driver took her family everywhere.
She described what life was like when a missile was tested or fired as “high tension in North Korea.” She told the Mirror that during those high tension times, all adults must sleep in their military uniforms “in case of a big battle.” Hee Yeon said her father was required by law to sleep in his uniform every night.
‘Bribe economy’ supplemented lifestyle for defector’s North Korean family
Her father’s income, the Mirror noted, was “meager.” He supplemented his low wages with sizeable bribes. “He earned next to nothing, she said, “but he received bribes all the time because of his position.” Hee Yeon’s family even ate Japanese food purchased with bribe money her father received. She stated that they chose Japanese food “because my family is Korean-Japanese originally.”
Regarding poverty, she said that it was a topic that was not broached in Pyongyang. Nevertheless, millions of North Koreans are starving, and experience famine at times, the Mirror reported, many people are forced to eat bark or grass.
Delicacies Kim Jong-un indulges while millions of North Koreans starve
In stark contrast, Hee Yeon said one of Kim Jong Un’s favorite delicacies is “Bird’s Nest Soup,” which is costs as much as $12,000 for 35.27 ounces. The delicacy is very rare and is imported from China, according to the Mirror. The dish is made from Asian swiftlet bird saliva. Additional indulgences Kim enjoys, according to Hee Yeon, include imported caviar, champagne, and whiskey, while his people starve.
No talk of father’s work, penalty of ‘one wrong word’ was death
Before her father died, one thing Colonel Wui Yeon Lim did not do was discuss military matters with his family. “Just one wrong word,” Hee Yeon explained, “you could be killed.” The military is everything in North Korea, she stated.
After Colonel Lim died, Hee Yeon’s grandmother in Japan planned the escape for her granddaughter and other family members who defected, as well.
North Korean human traffickers received over $8,000 to smuggle Hee Yeon 20 hours to China – the first leg of her trek out of the dictator’s reign. She said that the trip from Pyongyang was terrifying. “I thought I could be stopped at any time,” she relayed to the Mirror. The next leg of her trip was to Laos. The final leg of her journey fleeing North Korea took her to South Korea, where her brother and mother now live, too. FOX News cited Hee Yeon as stating, “Despite our privilege we were scared. I saw terrible things in Pyongyang.”