The remarkable new career path of North Korean defector

A North Korean defector who used to steal food to survive and slept on the streets is now set to debut as a K-pop star.

Yu Hyuk, 24, is a member of 1VERSE, a boy band created under the label Singing Beetle - and despite having no official songs of their own out, the group already has thousands of social media followers and excited fans.

After fleeing his home country aged only 13, the rising musician faced further struggles as he struggled to adjust - and years later found himself dropping out of an arts college, with huge debts thanks to falling to a scam, and working at a Samsung semiconductor factory.

But now, Yu and fellow bandmate Kim Seok, 24 - who is also from North Korea - are making history with the first K-pop group featuring defectors.

The line-up also includes American-Chinese artist Kenny, 21, and Murita Aito, 19, who is Japanese. 

Speaking to the BBC, Yu revealed that he is now 'half-happy, half-anxious' - but his youth was filled with struggles.

As a young boy in Kyongsong County, North Korea, he was 'fortunate enough to have a house' but often slept on the streets.

'It was a crisis,' he explained, recounting that his family's poverty became so dire that he 'could have died if he didn't do something'.

He admitted to being forced to steal and beg. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Yu revealed that his parents split up when he was only three, and his father blew their money on bribing officials to avoid working.

His mother, who had also lived apart, fled to South Korea eventually - and would later send brokers to help him make his way over.

He told the outlet how he would feel 'obligated' to provide for his family at as young as seven years old, from the heartbreaking sight of his grandmother picking up grains of rice off a train station floor. 

'We were essentially beggars who happened to have nothing else but a house,' he added.

When he was 12, Yu said his mother made contact with a plea to get him to join her in the South - an offer he initially refused.

It then surfaced that his father persuaded him to go - after Yu's mother reportedly promised to send him monthly payments if he could get their son to come.

By 13 - following a dangerous journey that saw him moving across China and various other surrounding countries - he made his way to Seoul. 

North Korean defectors enter a three-month programme to help them assimilate, which Yu told the WSJ he was placed in. He was also put into a boarding school for kids in similar situations to his, but admits he felt lonely. 

Instead of living with his mother, who he didn't feel close to, Yu decided to try and finance his own life and worked part-time at a restaurant.

Aged 15, he received the tragic news that his father died, telling the outlet the news left him 'angry', as his dad was 'the one person who had always been on his side'. 

'I was the loneliest of all loners,' he admitted, revealing that the issues that killed him could have been medically treated if he had been in the South.

Through his struggles, Yu found a reprieve in writing rap lyrics.

Trouble came yet again when he was the victim of a scam - and with huge amounts of debt on his shoulders - started working at a Samsung factory. 

By then an arts college dropout, Yu soon experienced life changing circumstances once again when a meeting with a K-pop rep happened through a mutual acquaintance. 

Michelle Cho, who used to work at one of South Korea's 'big three' music agencies, SM Entertainment, was starting her own independent label - Singing Beetle.

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Yu impressed Michelle with a song he'd penned and she helped him develop his rapping skills with lessons. 

By 2021, Yu quit his job at Samsung and was working on his music. He hopes that one day, 1VERSE will help him connect with others who have encountered struggles.

'At the end of the day, there isn't a single person who hasn't had hardships,' he told the WSJ. 'I hope to move the world with our music. 

'Seeing that even North Koreans can have big dreams, I hope that other marginalized people can also have big dreams as they live their lives.'

He also hopes to one day go into acting - so that friends and family back in North Korea might have more of a chance to come across his work. 

In contrast, his fellow defector bandmate, Seok - who came over to South Korea in 2018 - grew up in a fairly wealthy household and enjoyed 'smuggled' K-pop songs and music videos, which are illegal back home, sometimes.

'I'd like to make music that can move people's hearts from the first verse,' he said. 

Speaking to the BBC, Yu added: 'Where else can I have this experience? The world is spinning.

'I'm anxious every moment... I'm like, "am I doing this right?' 

1VERSE - previously called SB Boyz - don't have a confirmed debut date but pride thousands of social media followers excited for their upcoming success.

Currently, they have put out a series of covers online - including songs from K-pop artists like Stray Kids to western stars like Justin Bieber and Troye Sivan.

Yu has also penned lyrics for a pre-debut mixtape, with a song called Ordinary Person.

'Grab a pad and a pen / Let my story begin / I'm going in,' he can be heard rapping.

''Cause I know they wouldn't believe my story if I told ya / I was the loneliest one of the loners / None around

'I don't wanna be shown all the hate / Turn the tables / I'll show em why I'm great.'