North Korean Fellows in the United States: Meet the Class of 2025
Please join us in welcoming Hannah and Rose, LiNK’s 2025 Advocacy Fellows!
The Advocacy Fellows program partners with young North Korean defectors to build their skills as effective leaders, storytellers, and agents of change for this issue. Hannah and Rose spent the last month training and preparing with our team in South Korea, and will now be traveling across the US to share their stories!
Join us at a Fellows speaking event near you!
Dallas, TX
September 9th, 6pm
Southern Methodist University | Dallas Hall Room 306 (McCord Auditorium)
3225 University Blvd, Dallas TX 75205
RSVP Here
Guest parking information here
Waco, TX
September 11th, 6pm
Baylor University, Foster Campus | Room 240
1621 S 3rd St, Waco, TX 76706
RSVP Here
Parking: 1521 S Fourth St. Waco,TX 76706 (Google maps or Apple Maps)
Madison, WI
September 16th, 12pm
UW-Madison | Lubar Commons (Room 7200)
975 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI 53706
RSVP here
Evanston, IL
September 20th, 5pm
Northwestern University | Harris Hall 107
1881 Sheridan Rd, Evanston, IL 60201
RSVP Here
Palo Alto, CA
September 28th, 1:20pm
True North Church
655 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, CA 94306
RSVP Here
Berkeley, CA
September 29th, 6pm
UC Berkeley | Stephens Lounge at the MLK Student Union
2495 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 94720
Parking: Lower Sproul Garage
RSVP Here
Washington, D.C.
October 8th, 1pm ET
The Stimson Center
1211 Connecticut Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20036
RSVP Here
*Online livestream also available: RSVP Here
Washington, D.C
October 9th, 10:30am
ET Hudson Institute
1201 Pennsylvania Ave N.W. Suite 400 Washington, DC 20004
RSVP Here
Philadelphia, PA
October 13th, 5:30pm
University of Pennsylvania
3401 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
RSVP Here
New York, NY
October 16th, 2025, 12 PM
The Korea Society
350 Madison Avenue, 24th Floor
New York, NY 10017
RSVP here
Los Angeles, CA
October 21st, 7:30pm
UCLA
Haines Hall Room A2 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Parking available in UCLA Parking Structure 2
RSVP here
Additional details and timely updates will be sent to RSVP’ed guests via email.
Hannah is a 4th year student at Hongik University studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering. While participating in LiNK’s Changemaker Scholarship Program, she worked on developing devices and strategies that increase information access for people inside North Korea. Her goal as an Advocacy Fellow is to grow as a leader and communicator, and facilitate more collaborative work on this issue.
Rose graduated from Hongik University’s Department of Architecture. For her final project, she designed a memorial to honor North Korean human rights and provide comfort to defectors who had to leave their homeland. She drew inspiration from the Holocaust and 9/11 Memorials in the US, and was deeply moved by how such spaces contribute to healing and progress. As an Advocacy Fellow, Rose hopes to continue finding her identity and increase interest in this issue.
Love Prevails—Three North Korean Love Stories
As Valentine’s Day gets closer, we’d like to share stories from some of North Korean refugees where love overcame challenges. Some have found love despite all odds, others found love after the hardships and achieving freedom. For many refugees, love was what drove them to risk their lives and kept them going as they resettled.
Minji—An Orphan’s Many Champions
Minji was left on the streets in North Korea at a very young age with no idea what her real name or birthday was. A kind man found her and made the selfless decision to risk his life to sneak her into China so a friend could take care of her. His friend nursed her back to health and the family reached out to LiNK to help Minji make the journey to South Korea. She has shown exponential growth since then, thanks to the care of many compassionate people.
Now in South Korea, Minji is thriving in a loving environment with her new foster parents and siblings who celebrate the progress she makes every day.
Jin Kyung—An Uncommon Cinderella Story
Escaping not just a stepmother but also the day-to-day hardships, Jin Kyung crossed the Tumen River into China where she was sold immediately for no more than 10,000 North Korean won and 2 packs of cigarettes. Later, she was sold a second time, but fortunately, to a kind, loving Chinese man and mother-in-law who helped coordinate her escape to South Korea. After resettlement, she eventually reunited with the man, who is now her husband. When Jin Kyung graduated from alternative school last year, her husband and baby boy came to celebrate the occasion.
It warms Jin Kyung’s heart to see the support of her husband in her career and their happy son.
Jung Hee—A Persistent Sincerity
Despite only a brief encounter with him at a retreat for North Koreans in the U.S., Jung Hee’s husband diligently and sincerely pursued her afterwards. Jung Hee found that she can depend on him during difficult times and he showed his affections after every text. She pretended to be bothered, while looking forward to his daily messages. Fearing he would lose her when he heard that her friends were arranging dates for her, he immediately booked a flight to see her and married her within a month with everyone’s approval.
For the couple, to be able to say “I love you” every morning and night is a blessing. Jung Hee believes that every person differs in the way they express their love, but being considerate and taking the first step to love will return that love tenfold.
