Hello everyone, this is Hana! It’s been a while since I last greeted you 😊
🇰🇷 We just had a 10-day Chuseok holiday here in Korea, and 🇺🇸 Thanksgiving must be coming soon in the U.S.!
How’s the weather over there these days? It’s been raining for several days here ☔
🎬 Today’s video is about the time I first encountered an American drama after escaping from North Korea.
If you ever feel uncomfortable while watching, please let me know — I’ll do my best to make my videos comfortable for everyone 💫
Oh, and about the blurred parts in the video — I couldn’t include the actual American drama scenes due to copyright restrictions, so I replaced them with my own footage instead. Please keep that in mind while watching. 🎞
Your comments and ❤ likes mean so much to me and truly give me strength.
Thank you always for watching! 🌷

Thank God it wasn't The Kardashians, as an American I would've been so embarrassed.

Hana, you're helping us 'rediscover' the simple freedoms we Americans usually take for granted. And for that alone, we thank you. :hands-yellow-heart-red:

I was terrified your first American TV show was going to be Jerry Springer or Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

I never would have thought just the ability to watch different TV shows would be considered a freedom.

You've quickly become one of my favorite YouTube channels. I'm glad we live in a time where someone with such a different personal history can easily share their story on YouTube for people across the world!

The idea that you questioned "can one watch foreign television without being punished?" Is heartbreaking.

I hear it's very common for foreigners of all backgrounds to watch the American show "Friends" to learn what it's like to have friendly conversations like Americans.

Love your channel!  Keep up the great work!

Your story reminded me of my wife's journey. She left her large, close family in the Philippines to join me in Texas, a new and unfamiliar world to her. I would leave for work and not return for 36 hours, then collapse to sleep. We would spend the next day together, then I would disappear again for 36 hours (24 hour shifts at a fire station and on my first day off I worked a shift at a local dept store - part-time job). My wife had some Filipino friends nearby, so she wasn't isolated, but it was a struggle for her. Seeing her go through that for me made me more determined to retire and raise our children in the Philippines, surrounded by her close family. She sacrificed so much, I turned the tables on her and sacrificed for her. A lot less than your struggles, of course, but reminded me of her.

You have mastered the art of the "Cliffhanger".  That means the answer to the question is in the next episode.  I am very happy for you and hope your future is as bright as your past is dark.

CLIFFHANGER! 🤣 you learn very quickly! 😉 thank you very much for sharing your story with us 👍☺

You learned how to keep us wanting for more from TV. It’s called a cliffhanger. We can’t wait to see what happens.

Your perspective reminds us of how much of our freedoms we take for granted here in democratic countries. Freedoms that we presume will always be there but as the US is showing us now can be taken away if we don't learn to cherish and defend them.

I am an Italian who first came to the United States to attend graduate school, and I now work in the United States. Even coming from the West, what surprised me most about the United States was the opportunities and freedom I experienced in my academic, professional, and personal life. If you have a good idea, and work hard, you can turn that idea into a successful business in the United States. That's not possible in many places in the world, including in Western and Southern Europe, where they crush your entrepreneurial spirit with a regulatory and tax burden that is impossible to overcome.

The freedom to express yourself in the public square is also something very different in the United States, which has a First Amendment to protect free speech. In Europe, they now have "speech laws" that subjugate free expression to the point that many people would rather remain quiet than express a contrarian or unpopular opinion in public. This leads to self-censorship, which is so dangerous for a free society.

The other two misconception(s) that I had about the United States was that it was a violent country with gun violence everywhere you turn. I have been in the U.S. for ten years now, living in cities like New York and Washington DC, and I have never been the victim of a crime, seen a crime, or saw a gun, except on a police officer. Also, the stereotype of Americans as being arrogant and rude is just not true. Yes, you will run into such people, but most Americans who I have interacted with are kind, helpful, and always have a smile on their face. Just a few thoughts from an Italian living and working in the United States.

Your stories are beautiful

finding freedom for the first time, can be as hard as having it suddenly taken away.

You have an excellent command of your thoughts and emotions, that is impressive Hanaya

American television dramas and movies are a tricky thing: you certainly can get an idea of how things are in America but do not forget that both American dramas and movies are for entertainment and not so much for education or enlightenment.  To be sure, both are grounded in the reality that is America but, for entertainment purposes, sometimes things are blown out of proportion, exaggerated, and misleading.  I certainly hope you can separate the wheat from the chaff.  Just remember that propaganda is everywhere - even in the United States - although I think it is safe to say that it isn't anything like what you may have experienced in North Korea - it isn't 24/7 here like there . . . yet.

I would suggest to be open-minded but wary - don't take everything at face-value.  Don't be afraid to doubt.  Don't be afraid to ask questions!  I once had the dream of being a teacher, and one of the first thing you have make students understand that there is no such thing as "stupid question" (but there ARE "stupid answers"), and the worst question in the world is the one that didn't get asked.

Nevertheless, I have enormous faith in you and I'm sure you'll do just fine!

Hana, your words are so beautiful here. Your life holds a deep wisdom we are privileged to experience ❤

Finding your own ability to stand on your own two feet in a new world is the hardest thing about changing countries. ❤❤