North Korea Freedom Week 2009 Schedule
Sunday, April 26
3 pm Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Korean War Memorial The North Korean Defector Delegation will lay a wreath to honor the American soldiers who gave their lives to ensure South Korea's Freedom and read a proclamation; A Special Tour of the Memorial will follow hosted by Ed Borcherdt of the Korean War Memorial Foundation
Host: Korean War Memorial Foundation
Open to the Public; No RSVP needed
6 pm Candlelight Vigil and silent prayers to remember and pray for all repatriated North Koreans who have been beaten to death and publicly executed in North Korea because of China's repatriation policy
location: International Calvary Church, 5700 Hanover Avenue, Springfield, Virginia
Open to the Public; No RSVP needed
7 pm Prayer Service for North Korea and for the visiting North Korea defector delegation
location: International Calvary Church, 5700 Hanover Avenue, Springfield, Virginia
Hosts: Pastor Sharon Lee, Pastor Heemoon Lee, and Pastor Eom Myung Heui
Open to the Public; No RSVP needed
Monday, April 27
All Day: North Korea Genocide Exhibit will be on display at Columbus Circle across from Union Station
Hosts: Nancy Purcell and Linda Dye, North Korea Freedom Coalition
Display by Sin U Nam, Moon Gook Han and the International Coalition to Free the North Korean Slaves
Open to the Public; No RSVP needed
Anniversary of the International Day of Prayer for North Korea -- once again April 27th is being set aside as a global day of prayer for North Korea is being . For more information, see www.globaljusticeprayernetwork.com
3-4:30 pm Special Capitol Hill Screening of Crossing
Location: 1539 Longworth House Office Building, Capitol Hill
Hosts, Host Organization: Congresswoman Diane Watson, Congressman Ed Royce, Congressman Dan Burton, Congressional Caucus on Korea; organizing contact: Hunter Strupp
Especially for Congressional staff, but Open to the Public
2-4 pm Department of State: DRL North Korea Funding Information Session -- an information session to introduce potential partner organizations to the DRL solicitation process including how grant proposals are evaluated and monitored.
Host: Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) Bureau
To Participate, RSVP REQUIRED via email turnerje@state.gov with full name, date of birth, country of citizenship and passport or driver's license number.
Tuesday, April 28 Rally Date and Anniversary of the First North Korea Freedom Day
All Day: North Korea Genocide Exhibit will be on display West Front of US Capitol
10 am Demonstration Calling for the Closure of North Korea's Political Prison Camps
Host and Speakers: Yoduk political prison camp #15 survivors Kim Tae Jin, Kim Young Soon, and Jung Gwang-il of the Democracy Network Against the North Korean Gulag
Location: Raoul Wallenberg Place -- across 15th Street from the Holocaust Museum
Open to the Public; No RSVP needed
Capitol Hill Rally for North Korea Freedom and Human Rights
West Front of the US Capitol
11 am Music Starts with the Pyongyang Musical Mission Troupe and our own Jeff Park and the Seoul Presbyterian Church Praise Band
12 noon Program -- Confirmed speakers: Senator Sam Brownback; Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Congressman Ed Royce; NED President Carl Gershman; Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor; Amnesty International Asia Advocacy Director T. Kumar and North Korea Advocacy Director Jack Rendler; Reporters Without Borders Washington Representative Lucie Morillon; Ed Borcherdt of the Korean War Memorial Foundation; Lindsay Vessey of Open Doors; Michelle Kim of PSALT, and special honored guests the North Korea Freedom Week Defector Delegation
Special guests from South Korean: Human Rights Ambassador Jhe Seong Ho; Dr. Hyunuk Kim, President of the International Forum for Foreign Policy and National Security;
Special guests from Japan: Diet Member Congressman Jin Matsubara; NGO Leaders Teruaki Masumoto, Secretary General of AFVKN; Professor Yoishi Shimada, Vice Chairman of NARKN
Host: North Korea Freedom Coalition
Open to the Public; No RSVP needed but bring everyone you know!!
After the rally: Visits to Members of Congerss
Host: Lindsay Vessey and Open Doors
RSVP REQUESTED To participate register at http://nkfreedom.org/index.php?id=61
3-5 pm Program: The Human Rights Situation in North Korea
Speaker: Professor Vitit Muntabhorn, UN Special Rapporteur on DPRK Human Rights
Sponsored by the Korea Economic Institute
host: Ambassador Jack Pritchard and the Korea Economic Institute
location: KEI Conference Facility, 1800 K Street, N.W., Suite 1010, Washington DC, 20006
RSVP REQUIRED: http://www.keia.org/rsvp.php?event=Human+Security+Series+Part+2+Human+Rights
Wednesday, April 29
10 AM Panel Session Focusing on Survey of North Korean Refugees
Speakers include Marcus Noland, Ambassador Jhe Seong So, and former DPRK Colonel Choi Joo Hwal
host: Marcus Noland and the Peterson Institute
location: C. Fred Bergsten Conference Center, Peterson Institute, 1750 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036
RVSP REQUIRED: meetings@petersoninstitute.org
3 pm: Special Event: Press Conference for Release of New Report on the Trafficking of North Korean Women by Committee for Human Rigths in North Korea
speakers: Ambassador Mark Lagon, Roberta Cohen, Debra Liang-Fenton, Bang Mi-Sun and Kim Young-Ae
host: Chuck Downs and Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK)
location: National Press Club, Lisigor Room, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20045
NO RSVP required; for more information, contact Christopher Kim at 202-349-3826.
6pm Special Screening of KIMJONGILIA which premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival with the film's director and producer N.C. Heikin. KIMJONGILIA is the first film documentary to expose the horrible human rights abuses by Kim Jong-il through defector's stories, North Korea's propaganda and original performance.
host and sponsor: Congressman Trent Franks and Tina Ramirez; special guest: N C Heikin
location: Capitol Visitors Center - North Theatre
RSVP Required (limited seating): RSVP at /index.php?id=30
Thursday, April 30
10 AM Congressional briefing on Human Rights and Humanitarian Tragedies in North Korea and What Can Be Done to Help the North Korean People
speakers: Choi Joo Hwal, Kim Tae Jin, Kim Seung Min, Park Sang Hak, Michael Magan, and Ken Isaacs
host: Congressman James McGovern, Congressman Frank Wolf, Tom Lantos Congressional Human Rights Commission; contacts: Hans Hogrefe and Elizabeth Hoffman at 202-225-3680.
location: 2200 Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill
1-4 PM Panel Session hosted by the Heritage Foundation on North Korean Human Rights: Recommendations for President Obama and the U.S. Congress
confirmed speakers: Congressman Ed Royce, NED President Carl Gershman, Joel Charney of Refugees International, Roberta Cohen of Brookings Institution, Jared Genser of Freedom Now, and Bruce Klingner of Heritage Foundation
host: Bruce Klingner and the Heritage Foundation
location: Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002
RSVP Required: http://www.heritage.org/press/events/ev043009a.cfm
6:30-8:30 pm CROSSING OVER: A Dialogue with North Korean Refugees
Speakers: Kim Young-il, Refugee and executive director at People for Successful Corean Unification
Han Young-jin: Refugee and Reporter at Radio Free Asia; and Laura Elizabeth Pohl, Freelance photojournalist and former foreign correspondent in Seoul.
Host: Ana Jang and the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, GPPI IPD Track, GU Korean Student Society, PS CORE
Location: Georgetown University, Carbarn Building 4th floor student lounge, 3520 Prospect St. NW
Especially for Georgetown community, but open to the Public; contact: hj57@georgetown.edu
Friday, May 1
10:30 am -- 12 noon Roundtable on China Refugee Issues
Confirmed Speakers: Shawn Roberts, Joel Charney and Suzanne Scholte accompanied by North Korean defectors and survivors of trafficking
host: Charlotte Oldham-Moore and Congressional-Executive Commission on China
contact: Toy Reid
location: 628 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington DC
Open to the Public, No RSVP required
12:30 pm Reporting from the Front Lines on our Fight to Save Our Homeland
Capitol Hill Forum in honor of North Korean Defectors hosted by the Defense Forum Foundation
Participants will have an opportunity to talk with the visiting defector delegation during lunch followed by a program with Q&A
B-339 Rayburn House Office Building, Capitol Hill
host: Defense Forum Foundation
location: B-339 Rayburn
Especially for Congressional staff but open to public: RSVP required and $30 to cover seated lunch (limited seating): RSVP to henry@defenseforum.org
Saturday, May 2
12 noon Protest at the new Chinese embassy against the PRC's violent treatment of North Korean refugees
Program: Music Starts with the Pyongyang Musical Mission Troupe and our own Jeff Park and the Seoul Presbyterian Church Praise Band
We will read aloud the list of those we know who were repatriated by China to face detention, torture, and execution in North Korea for fleeing their homeland.
Confirmed Speakers: American hero and refugee rescuer Steve Kim; the first American to spearhead efforts to document North Korean human rights abuses: Jack Rendler of Amnesty International, Free North Korea Radio director Kim Seung Min; Fighters for a Free North Korea Park Sang Hak;Yoduk survivors Kim Tae Jin and Kim Young Soon, Refugee survivors Bang Mi Sun and KIM Young Ae; and The Grim Reaper: Kim Jong-il/Hu Jintao: Side by Side in Genocide
location: 3505 International Place, NW, Washington, DC -- note this is a new embassy address!!
Host: North Korea Freedom Coalition
This is the last public event of North Korea Freedom Weel -- so Everyone please attend! as we call for China to end its cruel treatment of refugees which is in defiance of its international treaty obligations.