Jo: “I really hope this institute can be a big influence on college students about North Korean human rights."

Grace Jo was born in North Korea, a country with human rights violations the United Nations has described as unparallelled in the contemporary world.

Jo was the keynote speaker at the grand opening of the new Institute for Korean Studies, a research institution on campus.

Jo was born into a large family, with two younger brothers and two sisters. As a child, she almost starved to death, and her two younger brothers died of starvation. Her father left the country to find food for the family, but was reported by a fellow villager as a result of the extensive surveillance system North Korea has in place.

“As a citizen we cannot trust anyone in the village,” Jo said during a question-and-answer session at the opening. “It seems like they are very close, but in reality we are not able to speak detailed thoughts to each other. That’s the reality in North Korea, and I think that’s what happened to my father as well.”