Kang Na Ra is a famous Korean actress, influencer and youtuber. As of January 2023, she has over 100,000 followers on Instagram and creates videos for a YouTube channel, DIMPLE, often talking about her life in North Korea.
She escaped the country with the help of her mother who had defected many years before her while travelling to China. Kang Na Ra was just 17 (2014) when she crossed the Amrok river with a broker despite never learning how to swim. She got to South Korea through China, Myanmar and Thailand. She got inspired by watching Boys over Flowers (thanks to the smuggled SD card) back home in North Korea where she was living with her father and stepmother.
One of the reasons why she became a content creator was that she wanted to fight against the prejudice many South Koreans have against defectors. She often talks about her life in North Korea as well as clearing some misconceptions about what life in North Korea really looks like. Kang Na Ra herself came from a wealthy family and said that she had never starved or worked on the fields.
She debuted in 2016, in a movie called Take Off 2.
(Source: CBC; Koreaboo; CNA Insider channel on Youtube)
