This letter is sweet and speak volumes. So many times in life, we are separated from the people we love most, you have spoken so beautifully about how much you miss your cousin. You will find her again.
2 months ago
| 24
Beautifully written. As an American, I am grateful to be reminded of all we take for granted.
2 months ago
| 12
Sounds like you have the makings of a small novella for you cousin. Keep writing these heartfelt letters to your cousin and save them in a special folder on your computer, as well as a hardcopy. When your cousin can finally break through, you'll have something very precious and meaningful to give to her.
2 months ago
| 10
Very sad. One day God IS going to change things in North Korea and things will be different. Says so In the Bible. All nations will open up and receive the gospel at some point.
2 months ago
| 9
So beautiful and sad at the same time!! Why does this not end, why do leaders have to be this way??
2 months ago
| 8
This is a beautiful letter. Your love for your cousin shines through to all of us. I want to encourage your heart with this truth. Life on earth is temporary, but our eternal life is forever. One day you will meet again, maybe not on earth but I pray in heaven. God's heart is for reconciliation. He showed us this by sending His only son Jesus to reconcile us back to Himself. Therefore I have hope that you and your cousin will be reconciled again too! I believe God is fighting on her behalf. Even though you can't talk to your cousin, you can pray for her. And in this way, your love for her is truly reaching her, even in greater ways than anything else ever could. Keep hope ❤
2 months ago (edited)
| 11
A very touching letter that is filled with love and compassion for Heeya. Thank you for sharing this.
2 months ago
| 2
Watching from NYC. Reading this touched the deepest depths of my heart and my soul. I cried and felt the immeasurable pain of you hanaya. Although we have never met, most likely never will and we do not know each other personally, I promise to pray for you and your cousin every day of my life. God bless you and and your cousin hanaya.
2 months ago (edited)
| 5
I am so impressed with this writter, perfect mind heart coordination in her writing. Let awareness win.
2 months ago
| 1
I have a letter to my own "cousin" that I cannot send. Not because of the geography (even though we are about 3000 miles away from each other), but because of toxicity that I had to cut out of my life. I love her to the Moon and back -- have since birth, and always will. Hopefully at some point in time you two will be able to be reunited; the world is a strange and wounderous place. Praying for all of us who are estranged from loved ones, no matter what the reason. 💖🇲
2 months ago
| 8
My wife was born in the ROK so it is a country near and dear to my heart. I really hope that one day there will be a free united Korea. Don’t ever lose hope
2 months ago
| 4
May you both be united again, in this life, and still feel love for each other. May your children become best of friends. I pray for the people of North Korea.❤️🙏
2 months ago
| 3
Hanaya, you are beautiful and amazing. I hope somehow your cousin can see this beautiful letter.
2 months ago
| 4
Thank you for sharing your heart. My family lives quite close geographically, but the emotional distance is as far away as N. Korea.
2 months ago
| 2
I’m so sorry that you and your cousin have been separated for so long. It is my prayer that someday, some how the two of you will be reunited. When this happens, no time will be lost on you two. You will pick right up where you left off. God bless you Hanaya. Keep your head up, and never lose faith. ❤
2 months ago
| 4
Heartfelt to be sure. But what struck me was, "We used to argue so much..." I have a friend like that! Maybe people think that you can't argue in NK, you'll get in trouble. No, it shows our common humanity as people! ❤
2 months ago (edited)
| 2
I just came across your channel and am eager to watch past videos. Can I just say I am so glad you got out of NK, it breaks my heart when I see a video of what it's really like there. I just do not understand why people treat others that way. Keep up the great work!
2 months ago
| 3
Hanaya
A Letter I Cannot Send
Hello, everyone. đź‘‹
Today, I’d like to share something deeply personal with you—
a project called “A Letter I Cannot Send.” ✉️
It’s a letter to my cousin, Heeya.
She was like a sister to me, and still is. đź’›
But she lives in North Korea.
It’s been more than 20 years since I last saw her face. 🕰️
This letter is my way of sending my heart across a border I cannot cross. đź§
It’s the only way I can express my longing
for someone I may never see again. đź’”
As my YouTube channel grows đź“ş
and I connect with more people around the world 🌏,
I’m reminded, more than ever,
that there’s still one person I can’t reach.
The person I want to reach the most. 🌙
So I’ve decided to share this letter—
and more to come—
with you, my subscribers and community. 💬🤍
A Letter I Cannot Send is not just my story.
It’s a journey. 🚶‍♀️
And I’d be so grateful if you joined me on it. 🙏✨
Thank you so much for listening. đź’Ś
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Letter I Cannot Send
Hi, Heeya.
It’s me—your cousin, the one you were closest to.
How have you been?
I often wonder… if only you could somehow read this letter.
It’s been over twenty years since I last saw your face.
You must look so different now.
We used to argue so much when we were young, didn’t we?
But now, the thought that we can’t even argue—can’t even meet—is more painful than I ever imagined.
What brings me comfort, though, is that I live in a place where I can freely write down how much I miss you.
That freedom—that's something truly precious.
You and I were separated when we were just children, unaware of what freedom even meant.
Now, I’m raising two children in a place where I can speak, write, and live as I choose.
And you, I imagine, are a mother too—but living a very different kind of life.
Back then, we were just two girls growing up under the same system, shaped by the same stories,
so our hearts understood each other.
But now, I wonder—how much have our minds, our feelings, changed?
If we stood face to face again, what would that moment feel like?
Would we recognize each other?
What words would we say first?
Heeya, I think you’d be curious about life in South Korea, wouldn’t you?
They say even in the North, people are catching on to the Korean Wave.
Do you ever get to watch any South Korean dramas?
I hear about life up there through the news and through those who’ve come from the North…
but you, I suppose, rarely hear anything about the South.
Still, one day a strange thought came to me:
What if… you were somehow able to read the words I write?
That fragile hope has filled me with a quiet excitement.
So today, I decided to start writing letters to you—
to tell you about my life, my world, the South as I know it.
Wouldn’t that be something worth waiting for?
Of course, I sometimes daydream that you could write back to me,
telling me your stories from the North.
But I know that’s a dream, something too distant to grasp.
Still, I hold onto this hope:
that maybe, somehow, my words will find you.
I’m a writer, after all—so I believe I can tell you stories worth hearing.
Maybe these letters will continue until the day we finally meet again.
Or… maybe they’ll carry on until we meet in another world.
Either way, I want to leave behind something—
something for your children and mine.
So that if they ever meet, they won’t feel like strangers divided by a border.
When I think about that, tears well up in my eyes.
But I’m grateful.
Grateful that I can write, that I can share.
So Heeya, I’ll keep writing to you about South Korea.
Promise me you’ll listen with your heart—wherever you are.
Because this might just be the only letter like it in the whole world.
That’s all for today.
Goodbye for now, my dear Heeya.
With love,
Your cousin
2 months ago | [YT] | 728