“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years.

Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing [email protected] and including their first name and city of residence.

This week, new AANK columnist Rose introduces herself and shares her defection story.

Rose — who was born and raised in North Korea and lived there until she defected in 2019 — writes about her experience in a provincial city, how consuming foreign media made her yearn to see the world and