North Korean refugee speech contest takes challenging looks at 'freedom'
TNKR volunteers, speech contest participants, judges, and audience members pose for a group photo after the speech contest on Feb. 23. Korea Times photo by Jon Dunbar
By Jon Dunbar
Eight North Koreans now living in South Korea each gave 10-minute speeches for an English speech contest held by
Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR)
.
The 9th English Speech Contest, held at the new location of Shin and Kim law office on Jongno, offered the theme “My Future TED Talk About North Korea.” Hosted by TNKR co-founders Casey Lartigue, Jr., and Lee Eun-koo, numerous warnings were given to the 130 in attendance to respect the contestants' privacy and not make recordings or take photos.
The eight contestants spoke ― sometimes drained of emotion, sometimes fighting tears ― on their life experiences in North Korea, their escapes and resettlement in South Korea. While each gave a unique perspective, most speeches highlighted three highly telling key themes: North Korean black market culture, their parents, and the struggles in adapting to South Korean society.
The grand prize winner was
, who escaped to South Korea in 2012 and joined TNKR in 2015. Her speech, themed on the “price of freedom,” told with humor and sadness, revealed her difficulties assimilating into South Korea, surviving a rapid transition from the analogue era to the digital era. “It was like traveling in a time machine to the future,” she said.
“Living in South Korea was much harder than escaping North Korea. I thought I would be happy when I found freedom, but all I found was an empty apartment.”
The physical pain of escaping the North was nothing compared to the loneliness that awaited her on arrival in the South.
She got a job at a bakery to pay off the broker who got her here, but barely lasted a month because she didn't know the names of the products. Her next job was at a chicken restaurant, where all she needed to know was spicy or not spicy.
Then when she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, she thought her life was over. “Tuberculosis is almost a death sentence in North Korea,” she said.
But when she asked the doctor how long she had to live, he brushed it off and told her she'd be fine after a couple months of eating right and taking medicine.
She took a couple months off to recover, and took stock of her future, realizing “health is more important than money.” After that, she traveled the world, visiting countries including Vietnam, Switzerland, Germany and Thailand. Now she considers herself a member of South Korean society, fully enjoying her freedom.
Her coach, Gemma Haines, works at the Australian embassy and volunteers with TNKR in her spare time. This was her second TNKR speech contest working with Park.
“I'm incredibly proud of Eun-hee,” Haines said. “She is a very brave and determined young woman, who has overcome enormous odds to be where she is today. Her perseverance and zest for life is an inspiration to all.”
Park was awarded 1.2 million won for her winning speech. She immediately donated 100,000 won of it to TNKR.
Park
previously gave a talk for TEDxDongdaemunWomen
in December 2018.
The first place prize, under the grand prize, went to “Karen,” who escaped in 2012 and joined TNKR in 2017. She spoke on the North Korean economy, and her own experiences with it as it went from centrally planned during the Soviet era to its desperate transition to small markets to escape famine.
She had spent time living in Rajin which became a special economic zone and enjoyed the country's first benefits of trade. She said it helped create high-paying factory jobs that offered more money than government positions, and made it possible for free markets to develop across the country. As well, it opened North Koreans up to contact with foreigners, mainly from China, Japan and Russia.
“Living in Rajin was like seeing a new world before my eyes,” she said. “Before living in Rajin, I didn't even know there were people who spoke other languages.”
Second place went to Jung Yu-na, who defected in 2006 and joined TNKR in 2018. She spoke on her “first moments of freedom,” which were surprising those in the audience.
“When you're born free, it's easy to take freedom for granted,” she said.
Her first moment of freedom was getting South Korean citizenship, and her second moment of freedom was getting her driver's license that lets her travel wherever she wants within South Korea. Her third moment was getting a South Korean passport allowing her to travel the world.
“Kim Jong-un has ICBMs, but he cannot go everywhere freely. I have a South Korean passport so I can go anywhere in the world,” she said. “So I feel like I have more freedom than Kim Jong-un.”
The event ran from 2 p.m. to a little after 5 p.m., and TNKR volunteers entertained the crowd while the judges deliberated.
“It doesn't matter how you place in this speech contest,” TNKR volunteer Georgene Zaydell said in a speech, “you are all heroes in the eyes of humanity.”
The judges were actor Sean Dulake, Shin and Kim lawyer Yoon Jung-min and The Korea Times editor Celeste Kriel.
“All of your speeches were inspiring and I don't feel qualified to judge them,” Kriel said, “so thank you for sharing your stories and your hearts today.”
Lartigue also announced plans for TNKR's international forum held Sept. 1. Visit
for more information or to find out how to help TNKR's mission to support North Korean refugees.