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Before I defected from North Korea, I never dreamed of giving a speech at Harvard University, the top university in the world. When I was in North Korea, I thought Kim Il-sung University was the best in the world. I didn't know much about the rest of the world, and I couldn't even imagine giving a speech in English at a world-class university.
Freedom Speakers International co-founder Casey Lartigue recently created an online petition calling on Western countries to open their doors to North Koreans who have escaped from China. His action reminded me that we can all do something to make a difference about the things we care about. He didn’t ask anyone for permission to do it, he just did it. It is an important lesson I have learned from him and FSI co-founder Lee Eun-koo as a volunteer with the FSI-Global High School Union (FSI-GHSU).
It might sound like an overly dramatic plot twist in a low-budget spy thriller, but it’s true: some Westerners in South Korea went undercover trying to destroy the volunteer project I co-founded in 2013.
Before I defected from North Korea, I never dreamed of giving a speech at Harvard University, the top university in the world. When I was in North Korea, I thought Kim Il-sung University was the best in the world. I didn't know much about the rest of the world, and I couldn't even imagine giving a speech in English at a world-class university.
Last year, I was listening to one of my favorite rappers, Chuck D., when a line from one of his songs caught my attention: “When I can’t change the people around me, I change the people around me.” In other words, when he can’t alter the culture, attitudes, or behavior of those around him, he chooses to associate with new individuals.