Jung Yu-na: An influencer who speaks out

By Casey Lartigue Jr

There is no shortage of people who want Jung Yu-na’s time. She is a singer, dancer, violinist, actress, model, businesswoman, movie consultant and TV personality. She has graced television screens, provided expert consultation for major productions like 2019's “Crash Landing on You,” and captivated audiences with her performances. She is a multilingual entertainer who could easily spend all her time in the entertainment industry, focused on her rising career.

Yet, despite all of this, Jung Yu-na — a North Korean refugee — still chooses to stand on stage, not just as a performer, but as a speaker, an advocate and a leader for North Korean refugees.

She doesn’t have to do this by taking time out of her demanding schedule to engage with audiences about her journey, to stand on stage for a small nongovernmental organization (NGO) like Freedom Speakers International (FSI), or to lend her voice to an organization that doesn’t have the resources of the global media industry. She has no obligation to us.

But she chooses to.

Jung originally hails from North Korea and defected to South Korea in 2006. She said in one speech, “I thought I was the first one to escape North Korea, but after I encountered so many North Korean refugees, I realized I was late in escaping.” She joined FSI in 2018 — not because she needed help learning English (she was already fluent) — but because she wanted to sharpen her skills. From the start, she recognized FSI’s mission and impact. I’ll never forget her first visit to our office in 2018, when she kept saying: “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? This is such a great organization.”

She quickly became one of our standout members. She was a featured speaker at FSI’s Ivy League Conference for Korean Unification at Harvard University in late 2019 and joined the North Korean Refugee Keynote Speakers Network when it was formed in late 2020. She was the grand prize winner of FSI’s 11th English Speech Contest in September 2020. North Koreans living abroad outside of North Korea have contacted her, including some who later escaped to South Korea.

Over the years, she has grown from a student to a speech contest champion, then to a global keynote speaker, and now to a leader guiding the next generation of North Korean refugee speakers. Oh, did I mention that she is an interpreter and personal secretary to billionaire Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests Inc.

A public speaker in high demand, Jung frequently lectures at secondary schools, government institutions and military bases across Korea, and is a regular commentator on the South Korean TV talk show “Now on My Way to Meet You” on Channel A.

Despite the many opportunities that come her way, she has never distanced herself from FSI. She has numerous organizations reaching out to her, countless people vying for her attention, yet every time we call, she answers. She never says no to our requests unless she genuinely has a scheduling conflict. She doesn’t make excuses. She doesn’t treat us as an afterthought. Instead, she remains a constant, unwavering supporter of our mission.

And it’s not just about showing up — it’s about how she shows up. She doesn’t treat FSI events as side projects. When Jung is on stage, whether speaking, performing or engaging in a Q&A, she owns the moment. She is a natural entertainer, but she is also a deeply engaging speaker, someone who knows how to connect with audiences in ways that go beyond words. Whether she is singing, playing the violin, sharing a personal story, or fielding rapid-fire questions from an eager audience, she commands the room with effortless grace.

At a recent international school event, students were so enthralled that they couldn’t even wait for the Q&A session; they stood up mid-speech, desperate to ask their questions. Afterward, they crowded around her — not just for photos, but to experience more of her energy firsthand. Even the teachers and parents, many of whom had seen her on television, were eager to meet her in person.

The students were so caught up in the excitement that they even started asking me for my autograph.

That moment was a testament to Jung’s impact. She had created such an electrifying atmosphere that even the person who introduced her — me — became part of the experience. It was as if her presence had elevated everything in the room, leaving the audience not just inspired but actively engaged in a way I had never seen before.

But beyond her ability to captivate an audience, what makes Jung truly remarkable is the depth of her insights. One of the most profound things she has ever said came after she gave a speech and engaged in a Q&A with travelers to South Korea.

When asked what she was thinking as she was preparing to escape from North Korea, she explained: “There was no ‘me.’ I was trained. I was used. North Korea used me as a tool. They made all decisions for me, there was no ‘me’ at that time to decide anything.”

That statement reminded me of an interview I did with North Korean defector Jang Jin-sung for The Korea Times, where he said that North Koreans have their identities stripped at birth. Jung’s words were not just about her own experience — they were a reflection of the deep, systemic oppression that defines life under the North Korean regime.

So when she recently sent us a message asking if she could attend our upcoming 21st ‘I am from North Korea’ English Speech Contest to be held on Feb. 22, we confirmed that she could attend.

I took it a step further. Instead of just attending, I asked her: Will you join me as co-MC?

Without hesitation, she said yes. “I would love to do that if you let me.” Then she thanked us for asking.

That’s who Jung Yu-na is. She doesn’t have to engage in NGO work in the North Korean field, which can often be messy due to gossip and detractors, but she chooses to anyway — driven by purpose rather than convenience.

Casey Lartigue Jr. ([email protected]) is the co-founder of Freedom Speakers International with Lee Eun-koo; and co-author with Han Song-mi of her memoir "Greenlight to Freedom: A North Korean Daughter’s Search for Her Mother and Herself.”