TOPIC – KEYNOTE
Eunhee is an outlier. In North Korea, a rigid and tightly controlled state of 26 million people, life unfolds under the absolute authority of the “Dear Leader.”
Eunhee was an iconoclast. She yearned for something forbidden—freedom.
Over the past 70 years, only about 34,000 people have defected from the DPRK. Very few have escaped from Eunhee’s hometown of Wonsan, a coastal city far from the Chinese border, where escape routes are scarce and surveillance is unforgiving.
To flee North Korea requires what defectors call “the courage to die”—the willingness to leave behind everything familiar, everyone you love, and step into an uncertain future with no guarantee of survival.
Eunhee will recount a life marked by deprivation and fear inside the DPRK, her harrowing escape through China, Laos, and Thailand, and the often-overlooked aftermath: a lonely, disorienting resettlement in Seoul, where freedom comes with its own profound challenges.
BIO
Born behind one of the most closed borders on Earth, Eunhee Park did not choose to travel.
She chose survival — and turned it into a life of global exploration and impact.
Eunhee is a North Korean defector, author, and global speaker whose journey began not with a passport, but with a life-or-death escape across borders. Completely alone, without family, legal status, resources, or any guarantee of survival, her first crossings were acts of courage, not tourism.
Today, Eunhee’s voice travels where her body once could not.
She has shared her story on some of the world’s most influential stages, including TEDx and Oslo Freedom Forum, inspiring global audiences with a powerful reminder of what freedom truly means — and what it costs.
After rebuilding her life from zero, Eunhee went on to:
- Publish a widely read memoir about survival, identity, and courage
- Live, work, and speak across multiple countries
- Become a globally recognized advocate for freedom and human dignity
- Collaborate with international nonprofits, creatives, and institutions
- Transform trauma into leadership, purpose, and global connection