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Sun, December 10, 2023 | 10:05

Reasons to talk about North Korea

Reasons to talk about North Korea

I occasionally give lectures to foreign travelers as a Freedom Speakers International (FSI) Keynote Speaker. The topics are mainly "The Reality of North Korea" or "The Lives of North Koreans."

2023-06-03 14:09

Escape from North Korea's starvation and oppression

Escape from North Korea's starvation and oppression

My mom gave me two lives. First, when she gave birth to me in 1993. Second, when she rescued me from North Korea in 2011. If there's a hero in my story, it's her. North Korea might be the worst place on earth to raise a child, but North Korean mothers are brave and they will do anything they can to save their children.

2023-05-21 14:54

The chooser becomes the chosen

The chooser becomes the chosen

In my career over the past 25 years in the USA and South Korea, there have been many times that I have been “chosen” by influential people, at other times I have chosen others to mentor or assist, and there have even been cases that I chose mentors.

2023-05-13 15:01

'Doing' freedom together for North Korean refugees

'Doing' freedom together for North Korean refugees

I learned many things in my six years as a student at Harvard University. However, my education about freedom came before that when, as a pre-teen in Missouri City, Texas, I read all three of Frederick Douglass' autobiographies.

2023-04-23 12:29

North Korean refugee escape class of 2011

North Korean refugee escape class of 2011

Four North Korean refugees in Freedom Speakers International (FSI) participated in a forum in Seoul, Thursday, with 25 students and staff visiting from the United States. There were three key similarities about the speakers. One: all four of them escaped from North Korea in 2011. Two: all four of them were rescued by a parent. Three: they have all lived abroad.

2023-03-25 11:38

North Korean defector seeks justice

North Korean defector seeks justice

Twelve North Korean waitresses and a male manager who worked at a restaurant operated by the North Korean regime in China arrived in South Korea in 2016. The waitresses had mostly maintained a low profile. But not anymore.-Ed.

2023-02-11 11:25

2 Koreans from opposite sides of DMZ establish dialogue

2 Koreans from opposite sides of DMZ establish dialogue

If you want to write a book and it is the two of you writing it, you have to work together a lot, share a lot. It is challenging, especially when one is from North Korea, the other from South Korea.

2023-01-21 08:59

Learning English saved my life

Learning English saved my life

I escaped from North Korea in March 2011. The main reason is that I didn't see a future for myself there. Things have not always been easy in South Korea, however. In late 2019, I had hit a low point in my life. I was having many personal problems and I didn't see a future for myself.

2023-01-07 10:10

The voice of longing

The voice of longing

Hwang In-Cheol is a South Korean who has been advocating for the release of his father from North Korea. On Dec. 11th, 2021, I was his interpreter on the 52nd anniversary of the tragedy that befell his family.

2022-12-31 10:19

What I learned from another North Korean defector

What I learned from another North Korean defector

As a North Korean who was born into the core class of North Korea, I was lucky enough to be educated as an intellectual elite from a young age. I attended the best schools in the country and experienced a life that most other North Koreans could only dream of having. And as I joined the Foreign Ministry of North Korea, I was able to stay outside of the country, representing i...

2022-10-15 12:54

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