The exhibition took place in Seoul before the current coronavirus lockdown. The three artists arrived in South Korea at different times in their lives, came from different backgrounds and have had different experiences as defectors.

But all have found personal expression through art.

“Confusion of Identity”

“It could be my self-portrait or the portrait of any North Korean defector, of their inner psychological state experiencing distortion and confusion,” said Kang Chun-hyuk, 34, who is also a rapper.

Kang arrived in North Korea in August 2001 when he was 17, after four years in China. He says he did not fit in at school when he first arrived, and he ended up working as a laborer until he was 25.

“I always wanted to be an artist when I was young, but when I set foot in South Korea — it’s a capitalist society and all about money — I started to forget my childhood ambition.”

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[Source: Washington Post]