Summary

Hyeonseo Lee introduces herself to readers and explains that her current name is not the one she was born with, but the one she eventually chose for herself. It means "sunshine" and "good fortune." In February 2013, Hyeonseo Lee tells her story in English for the first time in front of a crowded auditorium. She is nervous and hears her voice tremble as she begins to speak about her childhood in North Korea. Despite her shocking story, Hyeonseo sill loves her country and misses it very much. She compares leaving North Korea to leaving another universe and recognizes that life in the free world can be very challenging for those born there. She knows she cannot return to North Korea, but also does not feel she fits into South Korean society. She cannot shed her North Korean identity and longs for her country "to...