This event is part of the Free Society Speaker Series that HLGU hosts in partnership with the Moorman Foundation.

Born in a punishing society devoted to the worship of Kim Jong-Il, Yeonmi Park is a leading voice of oppressed people around the world. Growing up in Hyesan, North Korea, it was normal for Park to see dead bodies as she walked to school, and to be so hungry that she ate wild plants. After watching a pirated copy of Titanic, the veil of tyranny began to fall. Having caught a glimpse of a free world, Park realized that her experience of life wasn鈥檛 the only one鈥攁nd that she might one day find a way out.

In 2002, Park鈥檚 family suffered a crucial blow when her father was arrested and sent to prison camp. In 2007, Park鈥檚 sister escaped with a friend before she and her mother followed her to China. But before they could locate her, Park and her mother were sold separately to Chinese human traffickers. She recounts the story of finding freedom in South Korea in her searing memoir In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl鈥檚 Journey to Freedom, and in the insightful, moving talks based on her experiences.

An insightful and candid speaker, Park is fast becoming a leading voice of oppressed people around the world. At the Oslo Freedom Forum and the One Young World Summit in Dublin, she became an international phenomenon, delivering passionate and deeply personal speeches about the brutality of the North Korean regime. Her address to One Young World on the horrors of detention camps, political executions, and sex trafficking has been viewed over 320 million times.

鈥淵eonmi Park is an inspiration to those who truly care for and value freedom,鈥� says Dr. Eric Turner, Christian Studies Division Chair at HLGU. 鈥淎s a North Korean defector, her story reminds us of the importance of maintaining free societies where everyone who is made in the image of God can flourish.鈥�

Park has been named one of BBC鈥檚 鈥淭op 100 Global Women,鈥� as she delivers passionate and deeply personal speeches. Park鈥檚 story brings the importance of free society topics to life in a raw, genuine, and powerful way. The fundamentals of freedom that Park says must be fought for are often ones taken for granted. In her viral talks, Park urges audiences to recognize鈥攁nd resist鈥攖he oppression that exists in North Korea and around the world.

鈥淵ou will not want to miss hearing from Yeonmi and her captivating testimony of perseverance and grace,鈥� Turner says.

For more information about this event and the Free Society Speaker Series at HLGU, email FreeSociety@hlg.edu.

The Colson Fellows Program equips Christians with a robust Christian worldview so they can thoughtfully engage with post-Christian culture, inspire reflection in others, and work effectively toward re-shaping the world in the light of God鈥檚 kingdom.

The University is happy to commission Dr. Eric Turner, Dr. Miles Mullin, Dr. Larinee Dennis and Mr. Clay Biggs as the University鈥檚 first Colson fellows.

These four individuals each put in approximately 500 total hours of work to become Colson fellows. This included 3,500 pages of reading, 130 hours of daily study, 40 hours of webinar and video learning and 50 hours of meetings.

Director of the Center of Christian Worldview Dr. Miles Mullin says the eventual hope for the Colson program at HLGU is that all full-time faculty and director-level staff members have the opportunity to become Colson fellows. A second cohort is currently in progress with a third beginning next month.

The HLGU Center for Christian Worldview exists to help equip the faculty and staff of 番茄社区 University with a Christian Worldview and to promote a Christian worldview across campus among faculty, staff, and students.