Yesun Kim is an undergraduate student at Ewha Womans University majoring in International Studies. Her interest in North Korean human rights started with her volunteer service during high school, when she raised funds to send solar lamps to North Korean children and taught English to North Korean escapees in Seoul. Based on these experiences, she has been researching North Korean women’s rights and attending relevant conferences as a research assistant at Ewha. Last year, she wrote a research paper titled “North Korea’s Rhetoric on Women’s Rights:  Reputational Defense or Labor Mobilization?,” which relied on several HRNK publications. After graduation, Yesun hopes to pursue graduate studies to learn more about North Korean human rights, inter-Korean relations, and the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

Through interning at HRNK, Yesun hopes to deepen her understanding of North Korean human rights by learning how to analyze different news media and studying the impact of daily political events on the everyday lives of North Korean people. Ultimately, she hopes to become a think tank researcher who can offer helpful policy recommendations for improving North Korean human rights.