LiNK 2009 Benefit Gala “Hope Makes us Live” Gala Program
Mistress of Ceremonies
Kyung Yoon | Executive Director, KACF
Welcoming Remarks
Ed Royce | U.S. Representative (CA-40)
History of LiNK
Video
- Dinner Special Program Remark The Underground
Justin Wheeler | Vice President, LiNK Joseph Kim | Student Jane | Student Shin Dong-Hyuk | Activist
The Transition The Movement
Introduction to Keynote Remarks Keynote Remarks
Lisa Ling | Field Correspondent, The Oprah Winfrey Show
Introduction to Special Awards
Light of Liberty Award Freedom Fighter Award
Dr.Paul Song
Joseph, Jane & Shin | North Korean Refugees Sam Brownback | U.S. Senator (KS) (Video Remarks) Jared Genser | Partner, DLA Piper
- Judith Ripka Auction Items The Nomadship Closing Remarks
Chris Onesto | LiNK Nomad
Hannah Song, President, LiNK | Liberty in North Korea
“Hope Makes Us Live” 2009 Benefit Gala Saturday, September 12, 2009
Dear Friends, Thank you for joining us tonight as we celebrate and share in our hope for North Korea. This issue has been labeled a crisis for well over a decade, making it difficult at times to feel a sense of urgency. But beyond the statistics and the rhetoric lie unfathomable stories of resilience and determination that have been driven by some form of hope. Hope resonates in everyone, yet is expressed differently in each person. It is believed that folding a thousand paper cranes - a symbol of peace and longevity in East Asian cultures - will make wishes come true and offer hope. And as a Haitian proverb so wisely states, “hope makes us live.” Despite the slow pace of progress or lack of significant change we see in this issue, we press onward because of the hope that has come from each life saved and each life changed. Tonight, we celebrate the hope that has made them live. The same hope that has carried thousands in their pursuit of freedom and the same hope we believe will bring an end to the North Korea crisis. It is with our deepest gratitude for your support and participation tonight that we invite you to continue on this journey with us as we seek to rewrite history and look forward to, one day, seeing liberty in North Korea. Gratefully yours,
Hannah Song President
Justin Wheeler Vice President, Global Awareness
Awardees United States Senator Sam Brownback (KS) Light of Liberty Award United States Senator Sam Brownback (KS) is serving his second term in the Senate and, in 2007, was a candidate in the Republican primaries for the 2008 Presidential election. As the original sponsor of the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 - under which North Koreans have been admitted into the US as refugees for the first time since the Korean War - Senator Brownback has been one of the most consistent advocates in the Senate on the issue of North Korean human rights and the refugee crisis. For the 111th Congress, Senator Brownback is a Ranking Senate Commissioner of the Helsinki Commission; a Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, Energy and Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water and Power, and Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Agriculture; and also serves on the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Special Committee on Aging.
Jared Genser - Partner, DLA Piper / President, Freedom Now Freedom Fighter Award Jared Genser is president of Freedom Now - a non profit organization that works to free prisoners of conscience worldwide through legal, political and public relations advocacy efforts - and a partner in the global government affairs group of DLA Piper US LLP, where he led the team that co-authored a 2007 report entitled Failure to Protect: A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in North Korea. The report serves as a handbook for groups seeking to use the international legal system in order to advance human rights in North Korea. His clients have included former Czech Republic President Vรกclav Havel; former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik; and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Aung San Suu Kyi, Desmond Tutu and Elie Wiesel. Mr. Genser was a 2006-2007 Visiting Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy, and previously served as management consultant with McKinsey & Company, a global strategy consulting firm. Mr. Genser is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a Team Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and also serves as on the Board of Advisors to LiNK.
Emcee and Speaker Kyung Yoon - Executive Director, KACF Mistress of Ceremonies Kyung Yoon is executive director and co-founder of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF), assisting low-income Koreans and Asian Americans in the greater New York area through grants, capacity-building and raising awareness about community issues. As chair of the advisory board of the New York Asian Women’s Center, she assists battered women and children in New York’s Asian communities. For more than a decade, Ms. Yoon has been a tireless advocate for women’s and children’s rights to govern their lives free from abuse and, in 2006, received an award from the City of New York for distinguished service. Formerly a correspondent for WNYW Fox Channel 5 News, Ms. Yoon was the first Korean-American broadcast reporter in New York , and created and hosted the World Bank-sponsored Global Links Television, an international documentary series on economic and social development issues. She has also served as vice president of the New York chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.
United States Representative Ed Royce (CA-40) Welcoming Remarks Congressman Ed Royce of Orange County, California, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is no stranger to Korea. In 1999, Representative Royce was appointed by the Speaker of the House to serve as Chairman of the US-Republic of Korea Interparliamentary Exchange in which Members of Congress discuss security, trade and economic issues with their counterparts in the Korean National Assembly each year. In 2004, Representative Royce was an original co-sponsor of the North Korean Human Rights Act, which was signed into law to promote human rights in North Korea and to protect North Korean refugees. He has also authored several resolutions highlighting the plight of North Korean refugees. He is a co-chair of the International Parliamentarians’ Coalition for North Korean Refugees’ Human Rights and has worked to promote international broadcasting into countries where governments limit free speech or strictly control news and information. He is the author of the Radio Free Asia Act of 1997, which significantly boosted broadcasting activities to China, North Korea and other Asian countries with repressive governments. Representative Royce was the “Light of Liberty Award” recipient at the LiNK 2007 Benefit Gala.
Speaker Lisa Ling - Field Correspondent, The Oprah Winfrey Show Keynote Speaker As the field correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show and contributor to National Geographic’s Explorer and ABC’s Nightline, Lisa Ling has reported from dozens of countries, covering stories about gang rape in the Congo, bride burning in India and the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, among other issues that are often ignored. In 2007, Ms. Ling reported on North Korea’s restrictions on freedom, violations of human rights and lack of medical care in the National Geographic documentary Inside North Korea. Ms. Ling was co-host of ABC Daytime’s morning talk and entertainment program The View, which won its first daytime Emmy during her time there, and, in 2010, will have her own series on future channel OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. Ms. Ling also serves as contributing editor for USA Weekend and special correspondent for CNN, and recently mobilized efforts to urge the North Korean government to release her sister and Current TV journalist, Laura Ling, and fellow Current TV journalist Euna Lee.
Guests of Honor North Korean Refugees Joseph Kim - Student / Former LiNK Intern Presenter Joseph, now 19 years old, was protected in one of LiNK’s shelters in China until October of 2006, when he became one of the first North Korean unaccompanied refugee minors to be resettled in the US. He is now a high school junior ranked among the top of his class and, in the summer of 2009, interned at LiNK to spread awareness of the North Korea crisis, learn about youth advocacy and formulate his role in this movement.
Jane - Student Presenter Jane was protected in LiNK’s Southeast Asia shelter before being resettled in the US in May of 2008. She is now waitressing, continuing her English studies and earning her GED to eventually study social work in college. Though she faces many challenges, Jane hopes to return to North Korea to counsel others, assist senior citizens and open an English school.
Shin Dong Hyuk- Activist/ LiNK Fellow Presenter Shin Dong Hyuk was born and raised in political prison camp No. 14 in Kaechon. He is the only known survivor to have escaped that camp back in 2005 and today is resettled in South Korea. Shin is currently in the US participating in a fellowship at LiNK to assist with our Liberty House refugee resettlement program and to learn effective advocacy and awareness building.
Guest Performer - VIP Reception Judy Kang Violinist Canadian violinist Judy Kang began her solo career at the age of 4. At 9, Ms. Kang performed for former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all of the major Canadian Ambassadors. She has also performed for former President Bill Clinton and South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun. At 10, Ms. Kang played in a nationally acclaimed televised performance with the National Arts Center Orchestra. At 11, she received a full scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music, where she graduated with a Bachelor in Music as one of the youngest in its history at the age of 17 and, at 19, received the Lily Foldes Scholarship from the Juilliard School. At the Manhattan School of Music, Ms. Kang also became the first graduate with high honors of the Artist Diploma, distinguished as the highest level of education. She has released two CDs, nominated for awards such as the Opus award and the Gemini in her native Canada, and continues to broaden her creativity through improvisation and writing. Ms. Kang currently serves as an artist and ambassador for WorldVision and is a mentor and artist for Young Audiences, Canada’s largest nonprofit arts in education organization.
Guest Performer Threefifty Duo Classical Guitar/Contemporary Rock With a second album under their belt, Threefifty Duo weaves contemporary rock into the rich texture of classical guitar while infusing intensely personal sound. Formed in the halls of The Yale School of Music and taught by renowned classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery - the duo consists of native New Yorkers Brett Parnell and Geremy Schulick. Threefifty Duo has played at venues such as The 92nd Street Y, Southpaw, Pianos, The New York Guitar Festival, The Monkey, Bennington College, Connecticut Guitar Society and a recent run of shows at California State University at Long Beach. In December of 2008, Threefifty Duo played a nationally televised concert organized by The America-Bosnia Cultural Foundation, with a member of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina in attendance. Their recently released second album, Circles, presents a volume of original compositions and the duo’s distinctive voice.
About LiNK Mission LiNK exists so that one day the crisis in North Korea will not. We operate under a mandate that does not allow us to remain silent about the human rights and refugee crisis that is a result of this emergency. We educate, protect, advocate, provide and empower the North Korean people so that one day, they will have the opportunity to live in true freedom.
EDUCATE: We share relevant stories of North Korean citizens and refugees through creative media, and promote the truth about the humanitarian crisis inside and around North Korea to the world.
PROTECT: We protect North Koreans in pursuit of freedom, seeking asylum, and in need of assistance - wherever they can be reached.
ADVOCATE: We advocate on behalf of the North Korean people for human rights and fundamental freedoms. We call upon our leaders to do more because we know they can.
PROVIDE: Within the capacity of our resources and mandate, we offer assistance to North Koreans, NGOs, governments, and other partners working toward the same mission.
EMPOWER: We empower refugees with resources, assistance and guidance to reach freedom and to build new lives. We also empower citizens of the world to take action and make a difference in their individual lives.
Brief History In 2004, two passionate individuals learned about what was happening in North Korea and felt a burden to share with the rest of the world what had gone unnoticed for too long. Educating a group of college students and young leaders about the crisis, together they formed LiNK, or Liberty in North Korea, with the hope of spreading awareness and effecting real change. The organization quickly grew and became a movement of activists empowered by the stories of refugees and motivated by the urgency of the issue. The all-volunteer group began participating in protests, petition drives and public awareness campaigns. In December of 2004, LiNK sent two teams to the border of China and North Korea on fact-finding missions to interview North Korean refugees and to investigate the conditions they faced. It was on this trip that LiNK’s investigators discovered North Korean orphans living on the streets where they were vulnerable to traffickers, abuse and death. Action had to be taken. Before leaving China, LiNK established Project: Safe Haven, their first underground shelters. Over the following four years, LiNK grew its network of underground shelters in China, expanding into Southeast Asia as well. LiNK established its first headquarters office in Washington, DC, in 2005, focusing efforts around advocacy and policy, awareness, and field programs in the underground. The organization would become a significant voice in the grassroots movement helping to pass key legislation and advocating for asylum-seeking refugees currently in the field. By mid-2008, a new executive director came to oversee LiNK, signaling a shift in the organization’s direction and strategy. In the beginning of 2009, LiNK’s headquarters operations moved to California to focus more heavily on building up the movement and expanding programs domestically and abroad. Today, LiNK’s work focuses on providing an end-to-end solution for the crisis in and around North Korea, beginning with awareness through mobilizing the grassroots and telling stories of hope and survival through creative media. LiNK also continually expands underground efforts to protect and assist more North Korean refugees in China and Southeast Asia, bringing more refugees through the Underground Railroad to freedom in the US, South Korea and Europe. And finally, LiNK provides supplementary assistance to North Koreans once they have been resettled and are beginning their new lives. The organization continues to meet with governments, NGOs and institutions to advocate for this issue and has since evolved into the leading organization for the North Korean human rights and refugee crisis.
Our Work The Underground:
Similar to the Underground Railroad of 19th century America that saved over 30,000 slaves, the modern day underground railroad comprises a network of safe houses and escape routes from North Korea to China, Mongolia, Russia and Southeast Asia. North Korean refugees are often faced with only one option: a life in hiding. Stripped of dignity as a result of being trafficked, exploited, tortured or silenced, North Koreans refugees initially come to our shelters in China and Southeast Asia expecting only to find basic necessities. However, our goal is that through incorporating language, history and cultural education, they would be equipped with tools to help them thrive when they move on, and to recognize that their voices are worthy of being heard. LiNK also brings refugees out of China to safe countries where they can seek asylum, and assists them in the resettlement process. In Southeast Asia, LiNK runs the only major shelter for US-bound North Korean refugees. LiNK bears all costs for field activity and does not expect or accept payment from refugees in exchange for protection and help. In 2006, LiNK brought three boys out of China, helping them to resettle in the US, where they have become the first North Korean Unaccompanied Refugee Minors to arrive. A second underground operation later that year brought out six more refugees, who were eventually resettled in South Korea.
The Transition:
Though no longer in hiding, newly resettled North Koreans are not yet truly free. Upon resettlement, they must essentially relearn every concept taught in North Korea, all the while discovering an abundance of choice, forming opinions, becoming financially independent, learning a new language and continuing to work through trauma incurred in North Korea and during their escape. Navigating this multitude of obstacles in a drastically different culture can seriously inhibit one’s ability to understand and enjoy this newfound freedom. LiNK’s Liberty House program assists North Koreans through this difficult process through micro-grants, scholarships, translation, tutoring, mentorship and rehabilitation counseling. In 2010, LiNK hopes to launch a transition home to centralize and incorporate these services into a six-month program and to provide a more stable environment. LiNK’s fellowship and internship program for North Korean defectors also provides leadership development training in advocacy and awareness building and assisting fellow North Koreans.
Of the 93 North Korean refugees here in the US today, LiNK has helped to resettle 13. After two years in the US, Joseph (one of the three boys LiNK brought out of China) is now among the top of his high school class. Mike, his sister Sarah and his wife Susan protected in LiNK’s Southeast Asia shelter - are continuing their English education at a community college. Jane, also protected in Southeast Asia, is completing her GED to eventually study social work in college. In South Korea, LiNK has helped to resettle 11 North Korean refugees. Elizabeth, protected in Southeast Asia, completed her first semester of studying fashion design and Shin Dong Hyuk - born and raised in political prison No. 14 - is continuing to work with LiNK as an activist and spokesperson on the issue of the camp system inside North Korea.
The Movement:
LiNK believes in the influence of the grassroots and realizes that change may only come through the conscious action of global citizens, pushing our leaders to take action and providing a constituency for this issue. Through LiNK’s Chapters, national/international tours and social networking platforms, LiNK rallies students and young people in the US, Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, South Korea and Uruguay to become leaders in raising awareness, assisting North Koreans in their communities and directly funding LiNK’s underground shelters and resettlement program. In just three months of touring, LiNK has increased its monthly donor support over twenty-fold and has established over 120 chapters. To date, the Movement raises 60% of LiNK’s annual revenue.
A Very Special Thanks To Anonymous Donors Bill Hwang Bradford Portraits Catherine Park Christopher Burn David Kim David Hawk Dr. Paul Song Edward Chung Grace & Mercy Foundation Jane Lin Jensen Ko Jim Butterworth Judith Ripka Livestream Menlo Park Presbyterian Church Mike Kim Mionetto USA Showclix Waters Crest Winery Young Kim All of our LiNK Chapters, volunteers, and dedicated staff! Please visit our INFO table for more information on LiNK and how to get involved. Opportunities to donate by cash, credit card or check will be at the GIVE table. Tax deduction receipts will also be available, as LiNK is a 501(c)3 non profit organization. Thank you for your generous support!
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