Last month, Abundance Project participants Connect: North Korea’s team were honoured to speak at the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) event on North Korean and Ukrainian solidarity in the face of increasing Russian aggression, held at Westminster. It was a powerful moment to share our vision for justice and collective care with policymakers, allies, and advocates across the UK.
Our team spoke candidly about their personal journeys of escaping North Korea; stories marked by unimaginable hardship, resilience, and hope. Each speaker shared not only what they had survived, but what they had built in the aftermath: lives rooted in purpose, creativity, and advocacy. Too often, narratives about North Korean escapees are framed through pity or sensationalism. We reject that.
At the APPG event, we made it clear that those who have lived through systemic violence must be at the heart of shaping the solutions. Survivors are not passive recipients of aid; we are leaders, thinkers, artists, and organisers. We carry the wisdom of experience and the vision for a better world.
By centering survivors’ voices, we begin to build a future where lived experience is seen as expertise, and where healing is collective, not individual.
One of the most moving moments of the afternoon came from our very own Yeyoung, whose performance of classical guitar closed the event. Her piece, both vulnerable and defiant, reminded everyone in the room of the beauty and strength that lives in resistance and creative expression.
We left the packed out room feeling hopeful and energised. The APPG space gave us a platform not just to speak, but to be heard, and we’re carrying that momentum forward.
Thank you to everyone who showed up, listened, and stood with us. We’re just getting started.
This post was written by Connect: North Korea, one of the Abundance Project Community Research Hubs.