GW THiNK is proud to present our third annual International Women's Day panel discussion focusing on the problems faced by North Korean women in the DPRK and as refugees in China. This year we will be joined by two North Korean women who will testify about their experiences. There will also be a moderated discussion and Q&A session. Doors will open at 6:30 pm.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/international-womens-day-panel-on-north-ko…
This is part of a series of events presented in collaboration with the Working Group on North Korean Women (nkwomen.com), the North Korea Freedom Coalition (nkfreedom.org), and NKinUSA (nkinusa.org). These two women will go on to give their testimonies in multiple venues, including on the opening day of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. If you are able to, please consider supporting this program by making a tax-deductible donation here: https://www.plumfund.com/charity-fundraising/nkwomen
Speakers
Yoon Seo Lee grew up in rural North Korea and worked on a farm with her family. The food they grew was taken for the soldiers and the people of Pyongyang. Her mother ate only one meal a day and eventually fell ill. They also suffered from the famine and her sister was malnourished. She was accepted at a university, but was unable to attend because her family lived in extreme poverty and couldn't afford the books or the food she was required to give to the professors. Yoon Seo left North Korea and traveled to China, Laos, Thailand, and eventually South Korea to pursue her dream of attending university.
May Joo was born in Pyongyang but her family was ordered toleave the city and forced to move to the countryside when shewas young. While in Pyongyang, she received food from thegovernment, but she received no support after leaving thecapital. She was married when she was 22 and had two children.She was beaten by her husband and lost one child in a trainaccident. Her other child suffered severe burns in anotheraccident. May went to China to find work so she could affordmedical treatment for her child. Instead, she was sold as a brideto a Chinese farmer. She had a daughter with this man, but hasno legal custody of the child. She arrived in the United States in2012. She has survived cancer twice since arriving.