October 20th:
After a long plane ride, Ms. Jang and our team finally arrived in New York City!
We met up with a previous intern, Hee Sun Seo, who is currently working in Manhattan. She helped Ms. Jang practice her speech for PSCORE’s event with NYU FFNK.
After the preparations, we shared our thoughts on current issues and discussed more of Ms. Jang’s life story. She really wishes to share her story since the remaining North Koreans can’t reach out to international audiences.
We hope Ms. Jang’s message can be a stepping stone for actual changes regarding human rights in North Korea.
October 21st:
On Monday, PSCORE met up with a group of lawyers who are interested in supporting the cause of North Korean human rights.
Although they were curious and offered to help us, we realized how spreading awareness through defectors’ testimonies is important for our cause.
Ms. Jang accompanied us and delivered a short speech about the harsh reality that North Koreans live through on a daily basis.
Participants were very touched by Ms. Jang’s story and current situation. She also talked about her new challenges adapting to her fast-paced life in South Korea with her daughter.
Since most of the lawyers moved from South Korea to pursue a better life in the US, they are now considered a minority where they currently live.
We would like to thank everyone who joined our event. Although they are busy Korean-American lawyers, they took to the time to meet and discuss with us.
We hope to reach more diverse audiences like these and make big changes for human rights in North Korea.
October 22nd:
As you all know, PSCORE and NYU Freedom For North Korea held another “Real Stories” event where Ms. Jang shared her story as a North Korean defector.
Although it was raining outside and amidst midterm season, many enthusiastic people from NYU but also Columbia University attended Tuesday’s event.
First, Mr. Tae-hoon Kim, president of PSCORE, presented the overall reality of North Korean refugees who are forcefully repatriated to North Korea by the Chinese government. As some of you know, the DPRK is very restrictive when it comes to the domestic and foreign movement of its citizens as it allows better control of information flow and maintains the disparities of the living conditions between the elite in Pyongyang and regular people in remote provinces. If one was to try and leave the country, Chinese authorities have a rigorous policy about North Korean citizens who don’t have proper documentation in China. Once they are repatriated to North Korea, torture and arbitrary imprisonment are next on the list of human rights violations that they have to go through.
Ms. Jang was very passionate while delivering her speech and is proud to share her personal case and the stories of so many other North Korean refugees who repatriated to North Korea.
Once again, we would like to thank NYU Freedom For North Korea as well as everyone who attended our event.
