2006 NORTH KOREA FREEDOM WEEK SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

APRIL 22-30 - WASHINGTON, D.C., USA

 

April 22, Saturday

Concert and Program to Appeal to the World to Free All Abductees Held in North Korea

Flyer and Rules (MS Word).  Map (PDF).

Time: 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Location: Lafayette Park (across from the White House) and the White House sidewalk

Sponsor: Rescuing Abductees Center for Hope (ReACH).

Contact: Founder of ReACH, Izumi Asano: asanocpa@erols.com

Website: www.asanocpa.com/reach

   

April 23, Sunday

Sunday Church Service focusing on North Korea

Time: 10:00 am

Location: Capitol Life Church, Rosslyn Spectrum, 1611 Kent Street, Rosslyn, VA 22209.

Pastor Bill Shuler.  Tel: 703-228-1843. www.capitallifechurch.com

Event sponsor: Open Doors

Contact: Lindsay Vesseylindsayv@odusa.org

 

Visits by North Korean defectors to area churches

(Free North Korea Radio, Exile Committee for NK Democracy, and the Democracy Network Vs the NK Gulag)

Time: 11:00 am

 

April 24, Monday

Opening of the North Korea Genocide Exhibit

Ribbon cutting ceremony at 6:00 pm

Time: The exhibit is open to the public April 24 - April 26, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm daily.

Location: First Korean Presbyterian Church of Maryland, 6410 Kenilworth Ave., Riverdale, Maryland 20737

Contact: Sin U Nam: snam@nkparchitects

Website: www.nkgenocide.net

Genocide Exhibit Flyers: English (PDF) & Korean (PDF)

 

April 25, Tuesday (Holocaust Remembrance Day)

North Korea Genocide Exhibit open 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Location: First Korean Presbyterian Church of Maryland, 6410 Kenilworth Ave., Riverdale, Maryland 20737

 

Senate Hearing: "Illicit Activity Funding the Regime" - Hearing Notice here.

Chaired by Senator Tom Coburn, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Govt Info & International Security.

Time: 2:30 pm

Location: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 342

Contact: Trey Hicks: Trey_Hicks@hsgac.senate.gov

 

Panel Discussion, "How to Promote Information Flow to North Korea"

Location: 2209 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20008-2813

Time: 5.00pm - 7.00pm

Sponsor: Open Radio for North Korea

Refreshments and light meals served after discussion.

Limited Seating: RSVP Young Howard at youngdemos@hotmail.com by April 23

 

April 26, Wednesday

North Korea Genocide Exhibit open 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Location: First Korean Presbyterian Church of Maryland, 6410 Kenilworth Ave., Riverdale, Maryland 20737

 

Screening of "Seoul Train" and Q&A session with Jim Butterworth, Producer

Time: 5:00 pm.  Open to Public.

Location: Mary Graydon Center 120, 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., American University, Washington, D.C.

Sponsor: Student Campaign for Burma

Limited Seating: Non-AU viewers please RSVP Vivian Lee: cityslick430@gmail.com

 

April 27, Thursday

House Hearing: "North Korea: Human Rights Update and International Abduction Issues" Hearing Notice here.

LIVE WEBCAST AT: http://www.house.gov/international_relations

Chaired by Congressmen James Leach and Chris Smith.  International Relations' Subcommittees on Asia and Pacific and on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations

Time: 10:00 am

Location: Room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

Contact: Doug Anderson: Doug.Anderson@mail.house.gov

 

Free North Korea Press Conference

Sending the Message of Hope to North Korea: Free North Korea Radio

Free North Korea Radio director Kim Seung-Min & Dong Chol Choi, Washington director for the Exile Committee for North Korea Democracy, will announce their efforts to reach out to the North Korean people through increased radio broadcasting into North Korea.

 

Congressman Joseph Pitts, dignitaries from the government of Japan, members of both Korean and Japanese Abductees, and Korean War POW rescue movements, will join to show solidarity for the defectors' based program.  All key leadership of the Exile Committee for North Korean Democracy (the visiting North Korean defectors' delegation) will be present.

 

Location: Room 2168 Rayburn House Office Building (across the hall from the hearing)

Time: 1:00 pm

Host: Defense Forum Foundation President Suzanne Scholte and Gil Chung of Free North Korea Radio-USA

Food and Refreshments served.  Public is invited.

RSVP: Pamela Thompson: pamelat@inebraska.com

 

Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Korean War Memorial by the Exile Committee for North Korea Democracy.  North Korean defectors pay tribute to American soldiers who died fighting for South Korea's freedom.  Statement presented at the Memorial.

Time: 4:00 pm

Contact: Col. Gordon Cucullu: gordon@mail.colonelgordon.com

 

Seoul Train Screening with co-producer Jim Butterworth

$10 suggested donation to cover cost of event.

Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Where: The Warehouse, 1017-21 7th St, N.W., Washington, DC 20001.

Website: http://www.warehousetheater.com

Contact: David Hurwitz at davidirahurwitz@hotmail.com and seoul.train.screening@gmail.com

 

Capitol Hill Reception for participants of North Korea Freedom Week (Open to public)

Host: Congressman Ed Royce and Freedom House

Time: 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Location: Rayburn Cafeteria, Rayburn House Office Building

 

APRIL 28, FRIDAY, NORTH KOREA FREEDOM DAY

North Korea Freedom Day Rally (11:15 am music; 12:00 pm rally begins)

Location: U.S. Capitol - WEST FRONT facing the Reflecting Pool and the Mall(weblinks to maps below).

For the list of confirmed speakers, see below.*

Event sponsor & coordinator: North Korea Freedom Coalition

Music by Seoul Presbyterian Church's Band "Flood" led by NKFC's Jeff Park, and a special band traveling from New York City which assembled solely for North Korea Freedom Day.

Contact: Suzanne Scholte skswm@aol.com

 

Visits by rally participants to their Members of Congress to urge full implementation of the North Korea Human Rights Act.

Contact: Mariam Bell: mbell@wilberforce.org

(If you plan to participate in the visits, please register so we can organize groups beforehand.  Registration will also be available at the Rally, but early registration is helpful.  During the first North Korean Freedom Day, April 28, 2004 - 20 teams of 10 - two hundred participants visited Senators and Congressmen in support of the North Korea Human Rights Act, which was unnamously passed later that fall.)

All Night Prayer Vigil** for North Korean Refugees, Jailed Humanitarian Workers and Repatriated North Koreans

Location: PRC Embassy (Little Tianamen Park), 2300 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C.

Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm: message, testimonies, praise and prayer.

9:00 pm - 7:00 am: prayer led by churches and organizations

Sponsor: North Korea Freedom Coalition and Pastors Heemoon Lee and Dong Soo Shin

Contact: Pastor Heemoon Lee: heemoonlee@comcast.net

 

April 29, Saturday

Conclusion of All Night Prayer Vigil, 7:00 am

 

Evening Church Event on North Korea hosted by Open Doors at Frontline Church

Location: McLean Bible Church, 8925 Leesburg Pike, Vienna, Virginia.

Tel: 703-770-2986

Time: 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Event sponsor: Open Doors

Contact: Lindsay Vessey: LindsayV@odusa.org

 

April 30, Sunday

Special events at local churches focusing on North Korea.

 

*NORTH KOREA FREEOM DAY RALLY (April 28) SPEAKERS INCLUDED:

STATEMENTS FROM APRIL 28, 2006 RALLY AVAILABLE HERE

Visiting leadership of the North Korea defectors organizations: Kim Seung-Min, Park Sang-Hak, Hong Soon-Kyung, Huh Kwang-il, Lee Soon-Ok, Choi Dong-Chul, and Joo Sung-il.

Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton;

Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Jay Lefkowitz;

Senator Sam Brownback;

Vice Minister of the Japan Foreign Ministry Akiko Yamanaka;

Congressman Ed Royce;

Congressman Trent Franks,

Congressman Shu Watanabe (Japan);

Congressman Keiji Furuya (Japan),

National Endowment for Democracy President Carl Gershman;

Amnesty International’s Advocacy Director for Asia & Pacific T. Kumar,

Simon Wiesenthal Center Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper,

Open Doors President Dr. Carl Moeller;

Former Congressman and USCHRNK Board member Steve Solarz;

US Commission on International Religious Freedom Chairman Michael Cromartie;

SEOUL TRAIN producer Jim Butterworth;

Freedom House’s North Korea Director Jae Ku;

Councilwoman Eriko Yamatani (Japan);

Brian Kim, Executive Director of KCC’s Jericho Institute;

Pastor Joshua Chung,

Citizens' Coalition for Human Rights and Abductees and NK Refugees President Do Hee Yeun

Korean War Abductees Union President Lee Mi-Il,

Korean War POW Cho Chang-Ho,

Japanese Rescue Movement leaders Shimada Yoichi and Shigeo Iizuka

 

LINKS TO INFO ABOUT WASHINGTON, D.C.

Map of Capitol Hill

Interactive Map of downtown Washington, D.C.

D.C. Metrorail System

D.C. Metrorail Street Map

Official Tourism Site of Washington, D.C.

Washington D.C. Visitor Resource Center

 

**Prayer Vigils are also being held at these locations:

April 28, 7pm - 9pm, Chinese Consulate, 443 Shatto Place, Los Angeles, California 90020

April 29, 10am - 12pm, Chinese Consulate, 3417 Montrose Blvd., Houston, Texas 77006

For more info, contact Lindsay Vesseylindsayv@odusa.org