Youtube Growing up in North Korea, Hyeonseo Lee believed her life — witnessing public executions, studying the history of Kim Il-Sung with vigor — was totally normal.

Lee had no idea that people were suffering, until one day when she walked past a train station.

From TED:

I saw something terrible that I can't erase from my memory. A lifeless woman was lying on the ground, while an emaciated child in her arms just stared helplessly at his mother's face. But nobody helped them, because they were so focused on taking care of themselves and their families.

At the age of 14, she was able to escape and became a refugee in China. But her life there was not easy. She had no family, and at one point, she was picked up for a harsh interrogation by Chinese police — and if it was found she was North Korean, she would've been sent back.

She gave a TED Talk about her incredible experience, which was published online March 20.

You can watch the video below: