Around 30,000 North Koreans, who fled poverty and the relentless pressures of life in an authoritarian state, are now living in South Korea.

North Korean defectors prepare to release balloons carrying leaflets and a banner denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after the country's latest nuclear test, in Paju, South Korea, near the border with the North on September 15, 2016.
North Korean defectors prepare to release balloons carrying leaflets and a banner denouncing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after the country's latest nuclear test, in Paju, South Korea, near the border with the North on September 15, 2016. (AP)

Around 30,000 North Koreans now live in South Korea. They fled poverty and the relentless pressures of life in an authoritarian state.

Most of the defectors who risked their lives to escape from the secretive communist state have made huge adjustments to fit into their new home. 

But the contrast between their past and present lives have provided rare insights into North Korea. 

TRT World's Shamim Chowdhury has more from the capital, Seoul.

Source: TRT World