Lee Jeong-cheol holds a sign calling for the protection of North Korean refugees overseas during his human rights campaign in Los Angeles, Jan. 30. Courtesy of Lee Jeong-cheol

What is your dream? What do you want to be? Most new arrivals from North Korea would struggle to provide a straight answer to these questions. Having just escaped from a country where no one talks or asks about dreams, they may find such curiosity perplexing.

Before crossing North Korea's border with China in 2006, when he was 14 years old, the only "dream" Lee Jeong-cheol had had was to stave off his hunger. After arriving in South Korea with his mother several months later, he found that questions about future careers are very common here.

"That's when I started to think seriously about what I want to be," Lee told The Korea Times on Wednesday. "In North Korea, I was told to be loyal to the regime all the time. But no one asked me if I had any dreams."

His first dream was to become a diplomat. After learning English from American diplomats who volunteered to support students from North Korea at his high school in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, every weekend, Lee thought it would be "cool" to become one.

Lee did not pursue the dream all the way, but he carried on with his passion for learning the language. He found the process interesting and tried to take advantage of all available tools to make progress. One of them was a speech contest for those from North Korea hosted by Freedom Speakers International, a Seoul-based NGO that supports North Korean refugees in the South.

"At first, I didn't do well. So I tried again and again until I won the contest [held in 2021]." Lee said. "I didn't give up because winning the grand prize was never my objective. I took it as part of the learning process and enjoyed every moment of it."

Such efforts led him to career opportunities in the media industry, where he worked as a radio producer at Unification Media Group and as a freelance commentator for issues related to North Korea. He also launched his own YouTube channel.

All this led him to another great opportunity. After being awarded a Fulbright scholarship, Lee is now preparing to start his first semester at a U.S. university this fall. Lee has not decided which school he will attend yet, but he has made up his mind on what he will study.

"I'd like to learn more about international relations and be part of the international effort to combat food shortages, which still is a source of many human sufferings," he said. "Looking back, I'm deeply grateful for all the opportunities I received to dream and learn the things necessary to achieve that dream."