Category Writings on North Korea
My latest Foreign Affairs article joins the chorus of voices who are critical of the legislation recently passed by the South Korean Parliament that criminalizes the dissemination of information into North Korea. Don’t Leave North Koreans in the Dark: South… Continue Reading →
During my trip to Seoul this summer, I met extraordinary people who escaped North Korea and are involved in service projects throughout South Korea. I was particularly inspired by North Korean defectors who are now college students in Seoul who want to “achieve unification… Continue Reading →
…then support NKNews.com’s Kickstarter Campaign titled “North Korea Borderlands Reporting Project!” This project will send two North Korean defector journalists to the Chinese-North Korean border to source news and share their findings with us all. Check out the video and support… Continue Reading →
Song Byeok went from being a North Korean propaganda artist to political prisoner to now a dissident artist. His work will be exhibited in New York City for the next few weeks (May 7 – June 13) and I’d love… Continue Reading →
I’ve been working on this research and short paper titled “Hack and Frack North Korea: How Information Campaigns can Liberate the Hermit Kingdom“ for a while now and it finally came out today. Please check it out and share it with… Continue Reading →
In a city obsessed with thematic, niche cafes, the most unique–and perhaps most meaningful–cafe has opened its doors in Seoul a few months ago: a cafe started and run entirely by North Korean defectors. There are over 27,000 North Korean defectors who… Continue Reading →
When working at Google a few years ago, I connected with some North Korean students at Yeomyung school, one of the few private alternative schools for North Korean students who fled their country and currently live in Seoul. Some generous Googlers donated… Continue Reading →
I’ve been working on this project for some time now, and cannot emphasize enough how inspirational and effective the Albert Einstein Institute is. If you are interested, please download the Korean version of this, or the English version of this… Continue Reading →
This past weekend, a North Korea Hackathon took place in Silicon Valley, hopefully the first of many. The New York City-based Human Rights Foundation organized this event in San Francisco that drew a diverse crowd of about one hundred people, including engineers,… Continue Reading →
For those of you in New York City who are interested in learning about North Korean youth's identity in South Korea, please register for this event. The Korean American Community Foundation is sponsoring "North Korean Millenials: Exploring Identity and Place"… Continue Reading →
As part of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Asia Leadership Trek, my 40 classmates and I visited the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights in Seoul to learn about the abhorrent human rights situation in North Korea. Personally, I have… Continue Reading →
I was asked to give an NPR interview in light of the UN’s recent release of a report on North Korea’s unspeakable human rights violations. It’s a short 12-minute interview. Please listen to it if you get a chance; the… Continue Reading →
Me and some of my friends at the Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il statues in Pyongyang, the first stop on our tour in North Korea. During my recent trip to North Korea that I co-organized for 24 Harvard… Continue Reading →
On November 19th, 2012, our North Korea Study Group at HKS hosted Mr. Shin Dong Hyuk to be a guest speaker for over 225 students, professors, and community members. For over an hour, Mr. Shin shared stories and lessons… Continue Reading →
On October 5, 2012, the North Korea Study Group at HKS hosted Ms. Kim Young Soon, a former celebrated dancer in North Korea. In her 2008 book entitled “I was Sung Hye-rim’s Friend,” Ms. Kim described her ordeal at… Continue Reading →
Back in July, I organized the North Korean panel at Google’s conference on Illicit Networks in Westlake, California. Ranging from the regime’s elite party members to the country’s forgotten orphans, ten North Korean defectors flew in from Seoul to join… Continue Reading →
As Google’s North Korea Lead, I’ve been working on several projects related to connecting North Korean defectors with various online resources. One recent project was to manage the North Korean panel and workshop (or “lab”) at the Google Ideas INFO… Continue Reading →