Jaeyi Shim joined FSI’s North Korean Refugee Keynote Speakers Network in 2026

She was born in Hoeryong, North Hamgyong Province in North Korea, and she was raised by her grandparents. After her grandfather passed away, she moved from one relative’s house to another. Yet in her heart, there was always one person she longed for—her mother.

When brokers sent by her mother tried to help me escape, she ran away to avoid them. During that time, she failed to escape North Korea three times, and when she was thirteen years old, she was caught and subjected to harsh interrogation.

She did not have a grand dream. she was simply a child who wanted to live with her mother, and that desire is what eventually brought her here.

She spent the first 18 years of her life in North Korea. Carrying those memories with her, she escaped in 2011 and came to South Korea.

She simply hopes that her story can remind others how precious time with family truly is. If her story can give even a small amount of courage to someone who is facing difficult choices in fear, then that would be enough.

She grew up in a place where it was not easy to speak about dreams or make choices freely. Instead of remaining silent, she chose to share her story with the world.