North Korean Defectors Making Home In Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- They risk their lives escaping a cruel dictatorship, for hopes of a better life.
Today, there are thousands of North Korean defectors, mostly living in China and South Korea.
In spite of anti-American propaganda, some are choosing to move to the United States, including Chicago, CBS 2's Susanna Song reports.
Gloria Virto, who changed her name to protect her family, was the first North Korean refugee to move to Chicago in 2007.
"It's so hard because I don't know how to speak English," Virto said. "No family, no friends and no info about this country."
"If I still lived in North Korea, I don't know if I'd still be alive or be dead. They control speech and mind and jobs, eating, everything."
Today, roughly 20 North Korean defectors call the Chicago area home.
Most came as refugees.
A group of South Koreans in Chicago is on a mission to help these refugees find jobs and homes.
A local businessman donated farmland in Lockport to get them started. Working there allows them to earn money to afford food and housing.
Many defectors simply don't want to show their faces. They fear their friends and relatives in North Korea could be killed if their identities are exposed.
Virto longs to see her brothers in North Korea.
One day she'd like to go back.
"I don't like the government, but I love my country."
Virto is now a U.S. citizen.
She's married with a son, and she runs a flower shop from her home.
The Lockport farm is the third site donated to help North Korean refugees in the Midwest.
There's one in Peoria and another in Missouri.
About 300 North Korean defectors live in the United States.