Kayleen Tran is a senior undergraduate student at UCLA, majoring in Global Studies with Dean’s Honors and a language concentration in Japanese. She was the Volunteer Coordinator for PCC Global Club at Pasadena City College, External Vice President of Liberty in North Korea at UCLA, and participated in a Travel Study program at Singapore Management University.

Her passion for North Korean human rights advocacy began in her preteen years after reading a series of interviews from defectors on NKnews. As the child of Vietnamese political refugees, she viewed North Korea as an example of her life if Vietnam had never reunified. Every weekend, she walked to Barnes and Noble to read every autobiographical or research book on North Korea to deepen her knowledge and personal empathy for victims of the post-Cold War world.

Kayleen is ecstatic about working at HRNK as a research intern to oppose the regime. After graduation, she intends to pursue a professional career in North Korean human rights advocacy and research East Asian affairs. To reach this goal, she plans to work in Japan or South Korea and apply for a masters degree in international relations after her internship ends.