Joseph
Status: Rescued
Joseph’s greatest desire is to go to college to honor his father who passed away from starvation when he was 13. Soon after his father’s passing, his sister escaped to China to earn money but never returned and his mother disappeared as well. Joseph realized he had to escape to China to find food and search for his sister. In China, Joseph was able to find one of LiNK’s shelters where he was protected until being brought out in late 2006. Joseph was one of the first North Korean unaccompanied refugee minors to be resettled in the US. Now 19, he is a high school junior learning English, playing soccer, studying hard and hoping for the opportunity to go to college.

Danny
Status: Rescued
Danny escaped North Korea before he was able to graduate high school. He found his way to one of LiNK’s shelters in China in 2006 and was eventually brought to safety in the US in early 2007. His mother, also protected by LiNK, was later resettled in South Korea in late 2007. Danny is now living alone in the US, working part-time and making plans to go back to school to earn his GED. He looks forward to finally seeing his mother next year when she will visit him in the US – this will be the first time they will meet since they were separated in North Korea.

Justin
Status: In Hiding
Justin is 20 years old. His father passed away and his mother is remarried and living in China. He bravely escaped on his own and has been in LiNK’s Southeast Asia shelter for 7 months. While he has yet to decide what he wants to do, he is eager to leave and start his new life. He hopes that once he is resettled, he can help to bring the rest of his family out to be with him.

John
Status: In Hiding
Educated only through elementary school, John escaped in hopes of continuing his education in “the free world.” He left behind most of his family and his mother, who is currently imprisoned in North Korea for crossing the border and possessing bibles. Since coming to LiNK’s transition shelter in Southeast Asia, John has developed an interest in computers and video games and hopes to become a programmer.

"I want to be like salmon. Salmon leave the fresh water to live in the ocean. When they reach the end of their lives, they return to the place where they were born."

Mary
Status: In Hiding
Mary is a 27-year-old North Korean refugee. She dropped out of school in the sixth grade and eventually escaped her country in hopes of a better life and more food for her family who is still in North Korea. She is hiding in a rural village in China working seven days a week on a farm and has a Chinese husband whom she met as soon as she crossed the river. Although it is difficult and she is not safe, this life is far better than the one she lived in North Korea. Her dream is to resettle in South Korea where she can go back to school and study, but her biggest challenge is being able to afford the escape.

300,000
Status: In Hiding
It only begins with TheHundred. There are up to 300,000 North Koreans hiding in the underground in China, as China does not recognize North Koreans as refugees and instead sends them back to North Korea where they face imprisonment or execution. Among the women in China, 70 to 90 percent are trafficked into sexual slavery or forced marriages. Many suffer physical, emotional and sexual abuse and some have even reported being chained and locked in basements or being sold multiple times. North Korean-Chinese children born of forced marriages often become stateless, rejected by North Korea because of their mixed ethnicity and ignored by China due to their lack of legal status. The fathers of these children often cannot obtain documentation for fear that their North Korean wives will be sent back to North Korea. Without legal status, these children are left completely vulnerable - unable to receive an education, find work or enjoy basic rights.