Defector no more: Choi a proud South Korean world champion
WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi smiles during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi smiles during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Jul. 19, 2021 02:25 AM EDT
FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2011, file photo, South Korean champion Choi Hyunmi, a former North Korean defector, celebrates her victory over challenger Sainamdoy Pitaklongen of Thailand after their WBA women's featherweight title boxing bout in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2011, file photo, South Korean champion Choi Hyunmi, a former North Korean defector, celebrates her victory over challenger Sainamdoy Pitaklongen of Thailand after their WBA women's featherweight title boxing bout in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man, File)

Jul. 19, 2021 02:26 AM EDT
WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi poses for photos during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi poses for photos during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Jul. 19, 2021 02:24 AM EDT
FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2011, file photo, South Korean champion Choi Hyunmi, right, a former North Korean defector, lands a right to challenger Sainamdoy Pitaklongen of Thailand during their WBA women's featherweight title boxing bout in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 17, 2011, file photo, South Korean champion Choi Hyunmi, right, a former North Korean defector, lands a right to challenger Sainamdoy Pitaklongen of Thailand during their WBA women's featherweight title boxing bout in Seoul, South Korea. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

Jul. 19, 2021 02:25 AM EDT
WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi speaks during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi speaks during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Jul. 19, 2021 02:25 AM EDT
WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi fixes her makeup prior to an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

WBA woman super featherweight champion Choi Hyunmi fixes her makeup prior to an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on June 21, 2021. South Korea’s only boxing world champion is Choi, a North Korean defector who fled her authoritarian homeland as a 13-year-old girl with her family in 2003. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Jul. 19, 2021 02:25 AM EDT