Lee Ae-ran (; born 1964) is an activist. After her grandparents defected to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, she and her family were sent to a North Korean labor camp. She was imprisoned for eight years. In 1997, she ran away to South Korea after an American relative published a memoir stating that Lee's father was involved in anti-regime efforts. In 2005, she founded the Global Leadership Scholarship Program, which grants North Korean students scholarships to learn English. In 2008, she became the first North Korean defector to run for a seat in the National Assembly. In 2009, Lee became the first female North Korean defector to earn a doctorate, which she earned from

Ewha Womans University Ewha Womans University () is a private women's research university in Seoul, South Korea. It was originally founded as Ewha Haktang on May 31, 1886, by missionary Mary F. Scranton. Currently, Ewha Womans University is one of the world's largest f ...

in the subject of food and nutrition. Also in 2009, she founded the Hana Defector Women's Organization, an NGO that gives North Korean women living in South Korea job training, childcare, educational support, and human rights training. As of 2012 she is in charge of the North Korean Traditional Food Institute, which gives vocational training to North Korean defectors and tries to bring North and South Korea closer by teaching about the food culture of

Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...

. Also in 2012, Lee led an 18-day hunger strike in front of the Chinese embassy, against the repatriation of North Korean refugees held in China. She received a 2010

International Women of Courage The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ae-ran 1964 births Living people North Korean women activists People from Pyongyang Ewha Womans University alumni 20th-century North Korean women 20th-century North Korean people 21st-century North Korean women 21st-century North Korean people 21st-century South Korean women Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award