Bigger Better Badder - Down South

Tour Update No. 2

Hey y'all - our Liberty Live Tour has hit our halfway point and we're excited to share some of the highlights and give you all a little update on how the tour has been so far.

Since the last post, we've had seven more concerts in six different states.  Big shout out to the crews at UVA, Emory, Carnegie Mellon, UIUC, John Brown, and UT Austin!  Speaking of UT, we just had an awesome concert last night with about 60 people rockin out to Miss Vintage and Andy Grammer.  A big thank you to the Hunger in NK group that hosted the event and packed our stomachs full of delicious Korean food.  We heard everything was bigger in Texas and the sound definitely filled the room up that night!  It was a great night and we've got the picture to prove it -- Go Longhorns!

For a lot of us its been an awesome time traveling to new cities and states and seeing different campuses, but the best part has been meeting hundreds of new faces joining the movement.  Its an inspiration and the anticipation of meeting you all keeps us pumped and motivated during the long drives across the country.

We just had our second show in the great state of Texas, at Rice University, down in Houston and we're on the road making our way up to Colorado.  After our killer 16 hour drive to Colorado College and we'll finally hit the last leg of our tour in the lovely sunny California.  More than anything, we want to end the tour with a big bang and we anticipate some pretty awesome shows in the next few days.  If you are near Colorado Springs and anywhere in California, get your tickets and come out to the shows!  You won't want to miss out!

Remember to check out the tour website [link] for details on concert locations and times.

We're on the road right now, but keep posted for more updates and pictures from our tour!

[Miss Vintage, LiNK, and the JBU crew in Arkansas!]

PROJECT: REAL SUNSHINE 2008

Updates from Seoul!

Greetings from Project: Real Sunshine.

This year we have nearly 20 participants actively promoting and researching issues for the North Korean human rights cause. Our Project: Real Sunshine team will be spending three weeks in South Korea from June 22th to July 14th raising awareness in the streets of Seoul and researching "Korean Public Sentiment" on the issue of NK Human Rights and "Refugee Resettlement Experiences".

While many of you may be familiar with our "Drop Dead" initiative from Project: Sunshine 2006, this year we have taken a decidedly more inviting approach with our new "FREEZE" initiatives. Our participants have been distributing fliers throughout Seoul and inviting the public to learn more about our program and the issue we are working hard to promote. The "FREEZE" - incorporated with the arrow initiatives used in Project: Sunshine 2006 - has been receiving positive feedback from the public and we hope to find even more success in the weeks to come.

Enjoy the videos and photos (below) from our awareness initiatives and please check back for more updates! (Note: subscribe to our RSS feed for update notices).


Also check out our Daum blog for more pictures and updates in Korean! [link]


A video example of one awareness initiative we held in Gangnam Station.

Photos from various arrow and freeze initiatives held thus far:

LiNK hosted a nationwide speaking tour from May 1-15, 2008 for North Korean defector Shin Dong-Hyuk who was born into slavery and raised as a political prisoner in a North Korean concentration camp.

Beginning with a press conference on Capitol Hill - hosted by Senators Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Representatives Frank Wolf (R-VA) and Diane Watson (D-CA) – and a briefing with Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), Mr. Shin shared his story and perspectives on North Korea and the world that was hidden from him until recently, and urged the world to stop the grave injustices in the North.

The following day, LiNK, the Sejong Society of Washington, DC, Asian American Pacific Film, Inc. and the National Association of Asian American Professionals co-sponsored a mixer and happy hour fundraiser at IndeBleu.

Ending the Washington, DC, portion of the tour was a roundtable discussion at St. Albans School, a private college preparatory school for boys, where the school’s headmaster joined in on the talk (5/5).

The tour stopped by New York City in its second week, where Mr. Shin visited the Permanent Missions of the DPRK, Germany and the United Kingdom to the UN. Officials of the DPRK Mission refused to meet with Mr. Shin, while the German and British Missions welcomed him with meaningful discussions.

LiNK also hosted an awareness event at The King’s College (5/6), a “Brown-Bag Lunch Discussion” at the Columbia University Center for the Study of Human Rights (5/7), a press conference at New York State Assembly-member Ellen Young’s office (5/8), and a private pre-screening of Director Kim Tae-Kyun's Crossing at The ImaginAsian Theater (5/8). The screening was attended by over 200 guests – including activists, defectors, media and representatives of the New York State Governor and Assemblymen – and the audience was visibly moved, evidenced by the many who pledged to increase their involvement in and support for this cause.

The third leg of the tour was in Chicago, where awareness events were also held at Northwestern University Law School (5/9) and Foster Bank (5/10).

The following week, Mr. Shin shared his testimony and pointed out the location of his former home and camp parameters and facilities on Google Earth in a "Google Tech Talk" with LiNK Executive Director Adrian Hong at the Googleplex headquarters near San Francisco (5/12). Google had previously hosted Mr. Hong for a talk in June 2007.

A second awareness event was also held at UC-Berkeley (5/12), and a fundraiser the next day at a local supporter’s home (5/13).

The tour came to a close in Los Angeles, with awareness events at UCLA (5/14) and UC-Irvine (5/15) and a mixer and happy hour at M Grill Restaurant (5/14).

Throughout the tour, LiNK's Directors, who accompanied Mr. Shin, also shared new developments and information about the crisis, refugee situation and LiNK's resettlement activities, and how the public can get involved.

A huge thank you to all of LiNK's staff, volunteers and supporters who helped welcome Mr. Shin to the US and contributed in putting together a successful tour!

Private Movie Screening in LA

Friends,

Please join us on Thursday, June 19 at 7:00 pm in LA, for a private screening of the forthcoming film Crossing, presented by LiNK, KoreAm Journal, and ImaginAsian Entertainment. Production quietly began on this film in 2004, and today we have the first feature film touching upon the North Korean human rights and refugee crisis. It is slated for theatrical release in South Korea on June 26. This film may very well be our movement's "Hotel Rwanda" or "Schindler's List." We are excited to be able to present this film here in the US for special advance screening.

THURSDAY, JUNE 19
Date/Time: 7:00 pm
Location: ImaginAsian Center, 251 South Main Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Presented by: LiNK, KoreAm Journal, and ImaginAsian Entertainment.

RSVP with name, affiliation, and reference: rsvp@linkglobal.org

*Seating is limited and RSVP's will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Links:
http://crossing2008.co.kr/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUqRvVgogZ0
http://www.koreanmovie.com/Crossing_depicts_the_plight_of_North_Korean_defectors_news1686/
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200803/200803170011.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSEO16870720071029

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/may/31/drama-focuses-on-horror-of-re-education-camps/

LiNK and Shin Dong-hyuk @ Google

Recently, Executive Director Adrian Hong and North Korean defector Shin Dong-hyuk stopped by Google headquarters at the Googleplex in Mountain View, CA.

Thank you everyone for supporting LiNK and our "Born and Raised in a Concentration Camp" US Tour. It has been an exciting and extremely busy 3 weeks, and we are thankful to everyone who came out and brought friends and family to our events. A more thorough debrief of the tour is forthcoming.

Stay tuned for information on our exciting summer programs and upcoming awareness initiatives!

SHIN DONG-HYUK TOUR DETAILS

WASHINGTON D.C.

Press Conference
Thursday -May 1 11am
Russell Park, Capitol Hill

Mixer & Happy Hour
Friday- May 2 5pm
IndeBleu
707 G Street (next to Verizon Center)
[location] [menu]

- - -

NEW YORK CITY

Awareness Event
Tuesday- May 6 7-9pm
Kings College
City Room (lower lobby)
Empire State Bldg; 34th st x 5th ave.
(Enter through 34th st. entrance, go through security, take the LL-6 elevators to the Lower Lobby)


Brown-Bag Lunch Discussion
Wednesday- May 7 12:30- 2:30pm
Columbia University Center for the Study of Human Rights
International Affairs Building Rm. 1118
420 W. 118th St.; New York, NY 10027

Community Awareness Event ** (RSVP Required)
Press Conference and Gathering with NY State Assemblymember Ellen Young
Thursday- May 8 12:30pm
NY State Assemblymember Ellen Young's office
39-07 Prince Street, 5D
Queens, NY (Flushing)


Awareness Event: Private Pre-Screening of "Crossing" *
Thursday- May 8 9pm
The ImaginAsian Theater
239 E 59th St (Btwn 2nd & 3rd Ave.)
New York, NY 10022

- - -

CHICAGO

Awareness Event
Friday- May 9 6:30pm
Northwestern University Law School
Arthur Rubloff Building, Rm 150
375 E. Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611


Mixer & Happy Hour
Friday - May 9 9pm
Location: TBD


Awareness Event (for Korean speakers)
Saturday- May10 6 - 8:30pm
Foster Bank
5225 N. Kedzie
Chicago, IL 60625
(Basement level community hall)
contact [janejlk (at) yahoo.com] for more information

- - -

SAN FRANCISCO

Googleplex Tech Talk (Private Event)
Monday- May 12 1pm
Google

Awareness Event
Monday- May 12 7 - 8:15pm
UC-Berkeley

Valley Life Sciences Building, Rm 2040

1101 Valley Life Sciences Building,
Berkeley, CA 94720

[directions]

- - -

LOS ANGELES

UCLA Awareness Event
Wednesday- May 14 4 - 6:15pm
UCLA
405 Hilgard Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Lecture Rm: Bunche Hall 1209B
Contact [ucla.spaank (at) gmail.com] for more info

Mixer & Happy Hour (RSVP Required)
Wednesday- May 14 8:30 - 10pm
M Grill Restaurant

3832 Wilshire Blvd. (2nd fl.)

Los Angeles, CA
To RSVP for this event, please contact [doah.kim (at) gmail.com]


Awareness Event (Open to public)
Thursday- May 15 8:00 - 9:20am
UC-Irvine
Conflict Management in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Social Science Lab 228

(Professor Paula Garb)
Contact [doah.kim (at) gmail.com] for more info.

* * *

Keep checking for more updates and details!

* * *

"Crossing"

*If interested in attending the private screenings, please contact [ info (at) linkglobal.org ] with your name, affiliation, contact information, and requested event.

**To RSVP for the Flushing Community Press Conference Event, please contact
[Ron.Kim (at) Chamber.state.ny.us] or [siebers (at) assembly.state.ny.us]

Special thanks to:
Asian American Pacific Film, Inc.
IndeBleu
The National Association of Asian American Professionals - DC
The Sejong Society of Washington, DC
Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership
Korean American Coalition - DC
Columbia University's Center for the Study of Human Rights
Heartland Alliance
Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries
NK Peace
Pan-African Association
The ImaginAsian
Students Promoting Awareness About North Korea (SPAANK)
Korean American Community Services (KACS)
Korean American Coalition, Chicago

US TOUR OF NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR BORN AND RAISED IN CONCENTRATION CAMP

Dong Hyuk SHIN shows his former home, the Kaechon Concentration Camp in North Korea, on Google Earth.

US TOUR OF NORTH KOREAN DEFECTOR BORN AND RAISED IN CONCENTRATION CAMP

Washington, DC – LiNK will be hosting North Korean defector Dong-hyuk SHIN on a speaking tour entitled, “Born and Raised in a Concentration Camp,” from Wednesday, April 30 to Wednesday, May 14. Shin will recount his experiences as a North Korean who was born into slavery as a political prisoner in a North Korean concentration camp.

After some relatives defected, Shin’s father, grandparents, and uncle were deemed treasonous and sent to separate camps. His father was sent to Political Prison Camp No. 14 in Kaechon, South Pyongan province, which houses approximately 60,000 inmates and is about 50 miles north of Pyongyang. For good behavior, he was permitted to marry a fellow inmate. Dong-hyuk SHIN was born on Nov. 19, 1982 and called the camp home until 2005.

While at the camp, Shin endured daily beatings, torture, starvation-level rations, saw forced abortions and even witnessed the public execution of his mother and brother in 1996. Shin described his life of total isolation from the world: “In South Korea, although there is disappointment and sadness, there is also so much joy, happiness and comfort. In Kaechon, I did not even know such emotions existed. The only emotion I ever knew was fear: fear of beatings, fear of starvation, fear of torture and fear of death.”

The speaking tour will be held in Washington, DC (4/30-5/5); New York City (5/6-5/8); Chicago (5/9-5/10); San Francisco (5/11-5/13); Los Angeles (5/13); and Irvine, California (5/14).

LiNK’s Executive Director Adrian Hong and Deputy Director Hannah Song will accompany Shin on the tour and will be speaking about the broader issue of human rights in North Korea, as well as the current refugee situation and LiNK’s resettlement activities.

Stay tuned for exact locations and times!