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URL:https://lectures.london/cambridge-university/life-in-north-korea-seen-
 from-the-heart-of-the-regimeand-the-journey-to-freedom/calender.ics
NAME:Lectures London
X-WR-CALNAME:Lectures London
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UID:26f90c1d-8806-4623-8658-be59fc6229fa
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DTSTAMP:20260519T070839
DTSTART:20260521T170000
DTEND:20260521T183000
SUMMARY:Life in North Korea Seen from the Heart of the Regime—and the Jo
 urney to Freedom
LOCATION:Cambridge University: Murray Edwards College
DESCRIPTION:What does it mean to live at the very center of one of the wor
 ld’s most secretive ?and repressive regimes? ?In this talk\, Tae Yong-ho
 \, former North Korean Deputy Ambassador to the United Kingdom\, provides 
 a rare and profound insider’s perspective on the internal ?mechanics of 
 the North Korean system. ?Moving beyond the common narrative of economic h
 ardship\, he explores a more ?fundamental tragedy: how a state-controlled 
 society renders individuals "living-dead" by stripping them of their agenc
 y and thoughts. ?Drawing from his personal history as a member of the priv
 ileged "core class" ?(songbun) in Pyongyang\, Mr. Tae describes his journe
 y from an elite upbringing to ?a career in the Foreign Ministry. He provid
 es firsthand accounts of the rigid social ?stratification that governs eve
 ry aspect of life in North Korea\, where housing\, ?education\, and even s
 urvival are determined by one’s perceived loyalty to the Kim bloodline. 
 Mr Tae Yong-ho was a former North Korean Deputy Ambassador to the United ?
 Kingdom and the highest-ranking diplomat to have defected to South Korea. 
 ?His defection in 2016 was driven by a profound desire to secure a future 
 of ?freedom for his two sons\, who had grown accustomed to life in London.
  ?Since arriving in Seoul\, Mr. Tae has become a leading voice for democra
 cy and ?human rights for North Korean people. ?Mr. Tae made history in 202
 0 as the first North Korean defector to be elected to South Korea’s Nati
 onal Assembly through a direct constituency vote\, representing ?Seoul’s
  Gangnam District. In 2024\, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Pea
 ceful Unification Advisory Council\, marking the highest-ranking governmen
 t post ever held by a North ?Korean defector. ?An accomplished author\, hi
 s best-selling memoir\, Passcode to the Third Floor\, was released in Engl
 ish in April 2024\, offering a rare and poignant glimpse into the inner wo
 rkings of the North Korean regime.
URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/whatson/detail.shtml?uid=afeb0bfc
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