Matchmaking North Korean women with South Korean men
As a young woman Yujin Han managed to escape North Korea but life in the South was unbearably lonely. So she set up an agency pairing South Korean men with other female defectors.
It took Yujin Han four attempts to defect from North Korea. Each time she was caught, she'd be sent through a re-education camp and eventually returned to her family. However, as soon as Yujin got back home, her grandmother would insist she try to flee again. Yujin had a relatively comfortable life in North Korea. It was actually once she landed in South Korea, she says, that she endured greater hardship. In order to survive, Yujin had to work multiple jobs including as a tollgate operator, a used-car salesperson and cosmetics vendor. But when she began working at a matchmaking agency, Yujin found her calling. Since then, Yujin has set up her own company and prides herself on her ability to successfully pair North Korean women with South Korean men. She has particular advice about how to date a North Korean woman and universal advice about the quest for love.
Please be aware that there are mentions of suicide in this episode.
Yujin's story has been featured in the documentary North South Man Woman.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Saskia Collette
Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Yujin Han sitting at her desk. Credit: Remont Films 2025)
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