04
March 2020
Past Event
Crash Landing into Freedom: The Stories of Former North Korean Soldiers

Crash Landing into Freedom: The Stories of Former North Korean Soldiers

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
March 04, 2020
Share:
04
March 2020
Past Event

1201 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20004

Read Transcript Read Transcript
Speakers:
Dr. Patrick M. Cronin

Asia-Pacific Security Chair, Hudson Institute

Colonel Steve Lee, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Senior Vice President, Korea Defense Veterans Association

OH Cheong Seong

Former Driver in the North Korean Panmunjom Military Police Unit of the Operations Bureau

LEE Unggil

Former Member of the North Korean People’s Army 11th Corps Special Forces and Member of the North Korean People’s Liberation Front

Congressman Ted Yoho

U.S. Representative, Florida's 3rd District, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation

**__In accordance with U.S. government travel advisories aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus in the United States, Hudson Institute asks that guests who have traveled to or from China, Iran, Italy, Japan, or South Korea within the past two weeks to please refrain from attending events in person and instead to watch events online via Hudson’s livestream.__**

**__An RSVP does not guarantee entry into the event. Confirmed attendees will receive an email from [email protected].__**

Join Hudson Institute for an event with two former North Korean soldiers as they discuss their escapes from the hermit kingdom. U.S. Representative Ted Yoho will present keynote remarks on the need for greater freedom across Asia.

Weeks before critical diplomatic talks between the Trump administration and North Korea commenced, OH Cheong Seong successfully attempted a daring escape within the heavily guarded demilitarized zone. Under gunfire, Seong, a driver in a North Korean military police unit, drove a truck to the border and crossed by foot into South Korea. For the first time in public in the United States, he will discuss his escape and the factors that compelled him to flee.

LEE Unggil, a former solider in North Korea’s 11th Corps Special Forces who escaped while completing university studies, will explain the plight of North Korean soldiers and the motivations for those seeking freedom.

Panelists will give insight into what life is like inside the country and describe why so many North Koreans, if given the choice, would choose freedom.

NOTE: This event is open to the press. All members of the media should RSVP to [email protected].

Related Events
See 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
03
December 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Moldova’s Euro-Atlantic Future with President of the Parliament Igor Grosu and Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi
Featured Speakers:
Igor Grosu
Mihai Popșoi
Luke Coffey
Peter Rough
Moldovan President Maia Sandu and European Union Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn pose in front of the Moldovan and EU flags in Chisinau, Moldova, on May 9, 2024. (Elena Covalenco via Getty Images)
03
December 2024
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Moldova’s Euro-Atlantic Future with President of the Parliament Igor Grosu and Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi

Next year the country will hold important parliamentary elections, which Russia will doubtlessly try to undermine using disinformation. To discuss recent developments in Moldova and the region, Hudson is honored to welcome Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi and President of the Parliament of Moldova Igor Grosu.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu and European Union Commissioner for Budget and Administration Johannes Hahn pose in front of the Moldovan and EU flags in Chisinau, Moldova, on May 9, 2024. (Elena Covalenco via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Igor Grosu
Mihai Popșoi
Luke Coffey
Peter Rough
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
People wave Indian flags as an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of southern Andhra Pradesh state, on July 14, 2023. (Photo by R.Satish Babu/AFP via Getty Images)
People wave Indian flags as an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket carrying the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft lifts off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of southern Andhra Pradesh state, on July 14, 2023. (Photo by R.Satish Babu/AFP via Getty Images)
US-India Economic Ties: To the Next Level and Beyond
aparna_pande
aparna_pande
Aparna Pande
Research Fellow, India and South Asia
Aparna Pande
Reports
4 Min Read
See More