A Hard Freedom: The Dreams and Trauma of North Korean Refugees

By Dan Chung

Over the past 20 years, 33,000 North Korean refugees have escaped to South Korea, though their plight in South Korea is largely unknown to the Western World. These North Korean refugees who have made it to freedom are struggling.

Within South Korea, North Koreans find themselves in a land of plenty but can't seem to move on. For many, they are not in danger for the first time in decades but cannot turn off the traumatic memories from their lives in North Korea and the peril they faced during their escape. After fleeing North Korea, refugees travel the 6,000 mile modern day underground railroad in China and other Asian countries.

Gathered from the author's work with the NGO, Crossing Borders, this book shares the real life stories of North Koreans trapped under the weight of lingering trauma, depression, and discrimination in South Korea. These stories help us to imagine what the future might hold for North Korea and North Korean refugees in a changing world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1538191725
• ISBN13: 9781538191729
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 208 Pages