In 2018, I got connected to 5 refugees who escaped North Korea to the USA. What surprised me was all 5 were able to escape by different variations of saving up enough money to bribe people along the way.
The only way to save up money for their ages (16-23) was to become "entrepreneurial"
EDIT:
If you are interested in North Korea, check out the stories by some friends of mine:
Charles - North Korean refugee turned programmer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ziqq5gUXu8g
North Korean Spy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9rLqYXTaFI
Girl with parents who worked in the government whose whole family escaped https://www.youtube.com/c/Pyonghattan/videos
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