The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story

Lee’s mother is the daughter of a North Korean Communist Party loyalist. She upsets her family by divorcing Lee’s biological father and marrying the man she loves, and who would raise Lee as his own, because he is of a lower social status. Lee’s mother is a natural businesswoman who keeps her family alive during the famine through illicit smuggling, black-market trade, and bribery. Lee’s mother defects to South Korea in an arduous experience that takes her through China and Laos, and several detention centers. 

Lee’s father has a career in the North Korean military. He and his family live more comfortably than most North Koreans. His family is not happy that he marries Lee’s mother, who has a child from a previous marriage, and makes the couple change Lee’s name to reflect the new union. Lee becomes aware that her father is not her biological father in elementary school and because of this treats him harshly until his death. She regrets this. Lee’s father leaves the North Korean military for a position with a trading company controlled by the military, a job that requires foreign travel. He’s investigated for abuses of his position and beaten badly. He commits suicide while Lee is away with her aunt. 

Lee’s younger half-brother, Min-ho is raised in North Korea and defects as an adult. He was engaged to marry and hadn’t planned to leave North Korea; rather, he only intended to escort his mother over the river into China to defect, but he was observed leaving the country with his mother and could not return. He travels across China into Laos with his mother. They are detained together in a Laotian prison before being transferred to South Korea.

Lee’s Uncle Jung-gil is her father’s cousin in Shenyang, China. His family flees to China during the Korean War and he is raised in Shenyang. He is a successful businessman and takes Lee in when she leaves North Korea. He teaches her Mandarin and arranges a marriage for her. Lee flees her uncle to avoid the marriage; he later helps her again by sending money to a gang holding her for ransom in Changbai, China.

Lee’s Aunt Sang-hee is Jung-gil’s wife. 

Geun-soo is a wealthy Korean-Chinese heir to successful restaurateurs. Lee is to marry Geun-soo but backs out and flees. Lee describes Geun-soo as nice, but also dispassionate and boring. Lee later finds out he winds up marrying someone else. 

Ok-hee is a North Korean refugee Lee meets in Shenyang and befriends in Shanghai. They defect to South Korea simultaneously, via different routes. They rely on each other for support in Shanghai and help each other plan their journey to South Korea, to seek asylum.

Dick Stolp is an Australian who helps Lee release her family and three other North Koreans from Laotian prison and transport them to the South Korean embassy. He introduces Lee to unconditional benevolence.

Kim is a wealthy South Korean real estate heir. He meets Lee in Shanghai and they date for several years. He helps her reach South Korea and aids her several more times while she is shepherding her family across China and Laos. They love each other but can’t not marry because of the gulf in their social status. 

Brian is Lee’s husband. He is an American from Wisconsin. He introduces Lee to free intelligence, and encourages her to speak publicly on issues relating to North Korean human rights abuses and other defector issues.