Jieun Baek

Bio

Currently a Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School of Government where she graduated 2014. Graduated from Harvard College 2009 as a Government concentrator, where interest in North Korea sparked. Love PolicyMic. Always open to a good conversation!
A Human Moment From the Most Isolated Place in the World
By Jieun Baek
During my recent trip to North Korea, one particularly memorable moment took place at the DMZ from the DPRK's side, where I saw both the North Korean and South Korean flags straddling the 38th parallel. I carefully struck up a conversation with a…
You Missed An Amazing Gay Pride Parade in Istanbul
By Jieun Baek
During my trip to Istanbul the other weekend, I walked into a spirited pride parade on the famous Istiklal street, and reveled in the diverse participants of this parade. I saw tourists cheering on, people jumping onto street lamps and construction…
I Was Eating At An Istanbul Restaurant When the Tear Gas Poured Through the Streets Around Us
By Jieun Baek
My world-traveller former roommate from Vienna (Latasha Wilson) who is currently a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey met me in Istanbul this past weekend, which turned out to be truly unforgettable. This city, where history meets modernity, was…
War With North Korea: Saber Rattling Puts South Korea on Edge
By Anita Ragunathan, Jieun Baek, Siv Cheruvu, Carolyn Posner, Andrea Ayres-Deets, Keeran Murphy and Georgi Ivanov
North Korea remains an opaque country shrouded in speculation and rumor and its recent saber rattling has the international community on edge. There have been a slew of incidents over the past couple months. In February, North Korea detonated a…
North Korea is More Than Just a Nuclear Threat
By Jieun Baek
North Korea’s nuclear test last week indicates that Kim Jong-Un is following his father’s preferred path of ‘diplomacy’: launch nukes when the U.S. is focused elsewhere, elicit international condemnation, and then use those public shames as grounds…
This is What Genocide Looks Like: A Shocking Look Inside North Korean Camp 14
By Jieun Baek
On November 19, 2012, my North Korea Study Group at Harvard Kennedy School hosted Mr. Shin Dong Hyuk to be a guest speaker for over 225 students, professors, and community members. For over an hour, Mr. Shin shared stories and lessons from being…
North Korean Prison Camp Survivor Reveals Horrific Details Inside the Yodeok Concentration Camp
By Jieun Baek
On October 5, 2012, the North Korea Study Group at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government hosted Ms. Kim Young Soon, a former celebrated dancer in North Korea. In the 2008 book entitled, "I was Sung Hye-rim's Friend," she described her ordeal at…
10 North Korean Defectors Get a Taste of the Silicon Valley at Google Illicit Networks Summit
By Jieun Baek
Last month, Google hosted a conference in Westlake Village, California on the topic of how technology could be used to disrupt illicit networks globally, including trafficking of humans, arms, organs, etc. This conference was co-sponsored by Council…
Survivor's Testimony of North Korea's Shocking Secret Torture Camps
By Jieun Baek
One of the ten North Korean defectors whom I invited to the recent Google Illicit Networks Conference was especially captivating. “Paul,” who is just two months younger than I am, had a completely different upbringing than me, having been born and…
North Korean Defector Describes Vast Network of Smuggling, Drugs, and Censorship Under Kim Jong-Un's Regime
By Jieun Baek
Editor's Note: Jieun Baek spoke with a North Korean defector, with the pseudonym Nehemiah Park. Park defected from North Korea to China in 1997, and he's currently 30 years old. J:  What made you want to defect? J: In what ways do you think North…
Cracks in North Korea's Secretive Regime: Is Kim Jong-Un Losing His Iron Grip?
By Jieun Baek
On April 13 at 7:36 a.m., the North Korean government proudly launched a missile in celebration of the 100th birthday of the nation's founder. Insisting that the missile was a weather-related satellite intended to be sent into the atmosphere, the…
North Korea Revealed: A Rare Glimpse Inside Kim Jong-un's Secret Regime
By Jieun Baek
Through a collaborative interview with Nehemiah Park (pseudonym), a North Korean who defected in 1997, I recently had the opportunity to interview Timothy Lee (pseudonym), a 16-year-old North Korean boy from the North Hamgeong province Hyesan city…
Dying to Communicate: North Koreans Struggle for Access to the Outside World
By Jieun Baek
People are literally dying to access information in North Korea today. More recently, North Koreans have been turning to cell phones to illegally access information by calling relatives outside the country. Illicit cell phone usage, especially…