When Kang Ok-ju defected from North Korea in 2014, she tirelessly saved money in hopes to bring her mother over to South Korea too. But she was scammed and it cost Kang her mother’s life. Like many defectors, Kang struggled to assimilate and at her worst state contemplated suicide. She still lives with survivor’s guilt, and experiences “invisible prejudice” in Korean society. Growing up in North Korea, Kang watched her streets fill with people who had nothing: no food, no water, no shelter. Soon, those people disappeared. Though her mother was entirely dependent on her, Kang had dreams to expand her family’s trade beyond North Korea. As a mother of two, Kang is thankful today that she escaped North Korea, and gave herself an opportunity to do more than just survive. Though she does experience discrimination, Kang is focused on making sure her kid’s feel belonging in a society that feels like “oil floating on water”.
