Nearly 300,000 people have fled North Korea, one of the most isolated and dangerous countries in the world. Learn more about this country and its refugee crisis.
  • Official name: Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)
  • Capital: Pyongyang
  • Government: Centralized Communist state; one-man, one-party dictatorship of "Dear Leader" Kim Jong Il and the Korean Workers Party
  • Population: 22.7 million
  • More than 1 million North Koreans perished in a devastating famine in the mid-1990s.
  • 33 percent of the population is undernourished.
  • 37 percent of children are stunted, 23 percent are underweight and 7 percent are wasted away.
  • Up to 200,000 are unjustly imprisoned in Soviet style gulags
  • Prisoners in these camps experience extreme abuse, torture, rape, forced abortions and even executions
  • More than 400,000 have died in these political prison camps
  • Up to 300,000 refugees are hiding in China
  • Approximately 80 percent of North Korean refugees in China are women
  • Of these women, 70 to 90 percent end up sexually trafficked, sold repeatedly or forced into marriages.
  • These women can be bought for anywhere from a few hundred U.S, dollars up to $2,000.
Escaping North Korea is dangerous and life-threatening. Browse this photo gallery to learn more about the journey many refugees take.


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