19
September 2012
Past Event
Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia's Underground Railroad

Escape from North Korea: The Untold Story of Asia's Underground Railroad

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
September 19, 2012
Share:
Default Event Image
19
September 2012
Past Event

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Read Transcript Read Transcript
Speakers:
Greg Scarlatoiu,

Executive Director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea

Melanie Kirkpatrick,

Hudson Senior Fellow and author

Jae Ku,

Director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)

Suzanne Scholte,

Chair of the North Korea Freedom Coalition

Kim Seong-min,

North Korean defector and founder of Free North Korea Radio

Escape from North Korea (Encounter Books) is a rare good-news story from the world's most repressive state—a compelling account of the people who dare to escape and the Good Samaritans who help them.

In her new book, Hudson Senior Fellow and former Wall Street Journal editorial board member Melanie Kirkpatrick describes the secret network of safe houses and transit routes that carry North Koreans hiding in China to safety in neighboring countries. The conductors are brokers motivated by money, as well as Christians motivated by faith. In violation of its obligations under international treaties, China's policy is to repatriate the North Koreans and arrest their rescuers.

Just as escaped slaves from the American South educated Americans about the evils of slavery, the North Korean fugitives are informing the world about the secretive country they fled. They are also sowing the seeds for change within North Korea itself by channeling news back to their information-starved homeland. They are a bridge to a free and unified Korea.

Related Events
See More
22
November 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Technology and Maritime Security Cooperation between NATO and the Indo-Pacific
Featured Speakers:
Giulio Pugliese
Tomonori Yoshizaki
Tsuneo Watanabe
Thomas Wilkins
Kåre Groes Christiansen
Shin-ae Lee
Benedetta Berti
Tsiporah Fried
Masafumi Ishii
Moderators:
Timothy A. Walton
Liselotte Odgaard
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force first-in-class helicopter destroyer JS Izumo (DDH 183) are seen from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) while operating in the Philippine Sea in support of Valiant Shield 2024, June 7, 2024. (DVIDS)
22
November 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Technology and Maritime Security Cooperation between NATO and the Indo-Pacific

At Hudson, two panels featuring government officials, think tank and university experts, and defense industry representatives will discuss the future of NATO-IP4 maritime and technological cooperation.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force first-in-class helicopter destroyer JS Izumo (DDH 183) are seen from the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) while operating in the Philippine Sea in support of Valiant Shield 2024, June 7, 2024. (DVIDS)
Featured Speakers:
Giulio Pugliese
Tomonori Yoshizaki
Tsuneo Watanabe
Thomas Wilkins
Kåre Groes Christiansen
Shin-ae Lee
Benedetta Berti
Tsiporah Fried
Masafumi Ishii
Moderators:
Timothy A. Walton
Liselotte Odgaard
Learn More
03
December 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
How the Trump Administration Can Reform the Foreign Service
Featured Speakers:
Simon Hankinson
Ambassador (ret.) Tibor Nagy
Drew Peterson
Moderator:
Matthew Boyse
The Harry S. Truman Federal Building is pictured on October 8, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images)
03
December 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
How the Trump Administration Can Reform the Foreign Service

Join Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for a conversation with three former senior foreign service officers on the opportunities for and challenges for State Department reform during the second Trump administration.

The Harry S. Truman Federal Building is pictured on October 8, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Simon Hankinson
Ambassador (ret.) Tibor Nagy
Drew Peterson
Moderator:
Matthew Boyse
Learn More
04
December 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Alaska’s Strategic Importance for the Indo-Pacific
Featured Speakers:
Senator Dan Sullivan
Kenneth R. Weinstein
A landscape marked by the oil and gas industry, September 27, 2008, at Nikiski Beach and Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska. The region is considered the 'ground zero' for oil and gas in Alaska, one of the top two oil producing states in the country. Lower right is Agrium Nitrogen Operations and left of that is Conoco Phillips LNG (liquefied natural gas) Facility. (Photo by Farah Nosh/Getty Images)
04
December 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Alaska’s Strategic Importance for the Indo-Pacific

Hudson’s Japan Chair will welcome Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) to give a keynote speech on Alaska’s strategic importance to the free and open Indo-Pacific. Following his address, the senator will sit down for a fireside chat with Hudson Japan Chair Kenneth R. Weinstein to discuss Alaska’s role in energy security, national security, and foreign direct investment as well as how the next administration should approach these issues.

A landscape marked by the oil and gas industry, September 27, 2008, at Nikiski Beach and Cook Inlet in Kenai, Alaska. The region is considered the 'ground zero' for oil and gas in Alaska, one of the top two oil producing states in the country. Lower right is Agrium Nitrogen Operations and left of that is Conoco Phillips LNG (liquefied natural gas) Facility. (Photo by Farah Nosh/Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Senator Dan Sullivan
Kenneth R. Weinstein
Learn More
09
December 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Reauthorizing the National Quantum Initiative
Featured Speakers:
Arthur Herman
Ryan McKenney
Rima Oueid
Allison R. Schwartz
(Getty Images)
09
December 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Reauthorizing the National Quantum Initiative

Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and Director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative Arthur Herman and a panel of leading experts for a discussion on why NQI reauthorization matters to government, industry, and the economy—as well as the important changes that will come with the reauthorization process.

(Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Arthur Herman
Ryan McKenney
Rima Oueid
Allison R. Schwartz
Learn More
See More
Related Research
See More
See More