North Korean famine
Hyeon-seo grew up in Hyesan, North Korea. "When I was young, I thought my country was the best on the planet," Lee explained in her TED talk in February 2013. "I grew up singing a song called 'Nothing to Envy'. I felt very proud. I thought my life in North Korea was normal, even though when I was seven years old, I saw my first public execution." Her family was not poor, but after the North Korean famine struck in the 1990s, she witnessed much suffering and death.