Jihyun Park

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Jihyun Park (Korean : 박지현; born 30th July 1968) is a British Korean Conservative politician who contested the Moorside ward seat of Bury Metropolitan Borough Council at the 2021 elections. [1] Although she did not win, Park is the first known person of North Korean descent to stand for election in the United Kingdom. [2] [3]

Contents

Park is a North Korean defector who escaped twice from the country, with the first attempt in 1998 resulting in forced repatriation and the second in 2008 being successful, and resides in the UK as a citizen. [4] [2]

Biography

Park was born in North Korea in 1968. [5] [6] She crossed into China in 1998 with her brother, a Korean People's Army soldier. A smuggler promised Park a "well-paid job", but she was instead sold for 5,000 yuan [7] into a forced marriage with a farmer, with whom she had a child. [2] Park was subsequently brought back into a North Korean prison camp, where she was forced to work on farms. [8]

In 2004, Park escaped again with the help of a local broker through mountainous terrain. Once back in China, she stayed for a few days in her former shelter and then fled to Beijing with her son, awaiting help from the South Korean embassy, but was later returned back to the border. [8] She did not give up and went to the United Kingdom as a refugee four years later, initially struggling with the English language and unable to communicate with anyone for some time. She eventually gained citizenship and settled permanently. [7]

Park published a memoir, The Hard Road Out: One Woman's Escape from North Korea, in 2022. [9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bruce, Andy (24 March 2021). "From prison camp to ballot box: North Korean defector seeks British election win". Reuters . Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "North Korean defector Jihyun Park to stand in Bury local elections". BBC News . 28 January 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  3. ↑ George, Thomas (31 January 2021). "The incredible story of the North Korean defector aiming to be a Bury councillor". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  4. ↑ Zuboff, Jen (28 October 2020). "In Conversation with Jihyun Park". Cherwell. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "How I Escaped North Korea Twice | Minutes With | UNILAD". Youtube. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Financial Times: "Lunch with the FT Jihyun Park", 23 September 2022". Financial Times. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  7. 1 2 "The last word: Jihyun Park, a North Korean refugee resettled in the UK | UNA-UK". una.org.uk. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  8. 1 2 "North Korean defector Jihyun Park looking to make democratic history in UK". ABC News. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  9. ↑ Park, Jihyun Park; Chai, Seh-lynn (31 January 2023). "The Hard Road Out". HarperNorth. ISBN   978-0008541408.
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