"North Korean Han Ga-in" Kim Seo-ah shared her defection process and love story.

On Nov. 13, SBS's "Shoes Off, Dolsing Poman" (hereinafter Dolsing Poman) featured guests Sayuri, Chao-lu, and Kim Seo-ah.

Kim Seo-ah said she defected in 2020 and is now a North Korean defector who is working hard to adapt. She mentioned having a son, saying, "I gave birth while defecting. And I brought him with me."

Kim Seo-ah said, "I never saw anyone using diapers in North Korea. People around me use cloth. It's expensive to buy in the market. We cut up clothes at home to use. It's really poor." Kim Seo-ah expressed her surprise at the parenting items in South Korea, saying, "I was really surprised to see the breast pump. I was shocked to see the formula maker and bottle sterilizer. It was a Shinsegae."

Kim Seo-ah garnered significant attention as "North Korean Han Ga-in" while working in a Cambodian restaurant. She noted, "North Koreans earn less than 2,000 won a month. One kilogram of rice is 4,000 won. If customers give tips, the security agents monitor and won't let us accept them. Even if we receive tips, we have to submit everything. At first, I gave it all away, but later, I learned tricks. I hid it in my underwear."

Kim Seo-ah recalled her meeting with her husband, saying, "At first, my husband helped me in the restaurant. He came twice a day. When we first met, he spoke indirectly, like in North Korea. He wore torn jeans. I felt so sorry for him. I wanted to fix his jeans. I wondered how poorly he must be living to be in such a state. I felt bad and worried about him."

When asked about her ideal type, she said, "Someone good-looking like Lee Min-ho. I met my husband while working in the restaurant. At that time, I had a crush on him, so he looked even better than Lee Min-ho." She confessed how she fell for her husband, stating, "I was sick, but at the restaurant, they thought it was a way to earn money. My husband brought in local medical staff and secretly gave me supplements in the bathroom. I was sick every day."

Kim Seo-ah said, "In North Korea, if you're caught while defecting, they break your legs. I climbed over the barbed wire, but only my stockings tore. I was hanging on the ledge, and my husband, who was waiting in the car, hugged me and took me into the car and fled. My husband kept calling me from the North Korean restaurant, saying to come to Thailand. I said I couldn’t go to Thailand. I knew that the first place to go was Thailand, so I stayed there. That's how I went to Laos. There was a broker who said he would send me to South Korea. My husband got swindled out of more than 300 million won by that person. Until going to Thailand, we kept getting scammed for money."

Kim Seo-ah said, "I didn’t know how I would get to South Korea, so I waited in Thailand for a year. I gave birth secretly. When I arrived in South Korea, I felt like I simply 'survived.' The business in Cambodia failed. My husband said, 'Even if everything else is lost, I have you.'"

[Photo] SBS "Shoes Off, Dolsing Poman"

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