The following article is an opinion piece by South Korea-based writer John Lee. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

The road to freedom for many North Korean defectors is long, perilous and, oftentimes, dramatic. Those that manage to flee the DPRK with their lives can count themselves fortunate to have escaped a place of rampant human rights abuses — even if many find that life in South Korea or other places does not live up to their dreams.

A small number of these