From Kim Jong Un's cult to K-pop: North Korean defector finds freedom in fandom

On a sunny Saturday in June, a North Korean defector who uses the pseudonym Lee Yeon-su took a day off work and travelled from Seoul to Busan to attend a concert by the South Korean pop group BTS. It was her third BTS concert in as many months.

In March, she was part of the crowd that gathered in central Seoul for the septet's comeback, but the stage was too far away. In April, heavy rain soaked the audience at the start of the group's world tour, drowning out the singers' voices. This time in Busan, however, she described the experience as 'incredible'.

'Every time I come to a BTS concert, I realise how happy I am that I can like and support someone of my own free will,' Yeon-su said. 'That would have been unimaginable in North Korea.'

Yeon-su was born in North Korea, a country where the regime of Kim Jong Un maintains strict control over its citizens through surveillance, fear, and enforced loyalty. Access to outside information is severely limited, and public events are tightly regulated. 'You had to be selected to attend events and if you weren't, you had to stay home with your curtains closed,' she recalled.

Now living in South Korea, she is able to freely choose whom to support. At the Busan concert, she joined the vast fandom in screaming, jumping, and singing along to BTS hits such as 'Fire' and 'Mic Drop'. Her story highlights the stark contrast between life under an authoritarian regime and the democratic freedoms enjoyed in South Korea, including the freedom of expression and personal choice.