Hannah Song

Song grew up in New Jersey. She is one of three children born to Korean immigrants and the granddaughter of a woman who emigrated to the U.S. before the Korean War from what is now North Korea.{{cite web|last=Ma|first=Fiona|title=Hannah Song: Pursuing Humanity for North Koreans|url=http://www.asianweek.com/2013/01/30/hannah-song-pursuing-humanity-for-north-koreans/|work=Asian Week|accessdate=May 7, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120161244/http://www.asianweek.com/2013/01/30/hannah-song-pursuing-humanity-for-north-koreans/|archivedate=November 20, 2014}}

Before joining LiNK, Song worked in advertising at OgilvyOne and Mindshare, with a focus on digital media and emerging technologies.{{cite web|title=Executive Leadership Team|url=https://libertyinnorthkorea.org/about/our-team/|work=Liberty in North Korea|accessdate=May 7, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520062453/http://libertyinnorthkorea.org/about/our-team/|archivedate=May 20, 2013}}

Song, who had previously been unaware about the situation in North Korea, says that she was changed by her reading of Aquariums of Pyongyang, the true account of a boy who spent 10 years in a North Korean prison camp in North Korea. In 2006, she started working full-time at LiNK's headquarters in Washington, D.C. She worked as Deputy Director until 2008, when Hong chose her to become the organization's new CEO and Executive Director. The next year, headquarters was moved to California.{{cite web|title=Executive Leadership Team|url=https://libertyinnorthkorea.org/about/our-team/|work=Liberty in North Korea|accessdate=May 7, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520062453/http://libertyinnorthkorea.org/about/our-team/|archivedate=May 20, 2013}}{{cite web|last=Ma|first=Fiona|title=Hannah Song: Pursuing Humanity for North Koreans|url=http://www.asianweek.com/2013/01/30/hannah-song-pursuing-humanity-for-north-koreans/|work=Asian Week|accessdate=May 7, 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120161244/http://www.asianweek.com/2013/01/30/hannah-song-pursuing-humanity-for-north-koreans/|archivedate=November 20, 2014}}{{cite web|last=Suh|first=Esther|title=LiNK's Hannah Song: Forever Committed to a Cause|url=http://mochimag.com/2010/09/links-hannah-song-forever-committed-to-a-cause/|work=Mochi Magazine|accessdate=May 7, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616151643/http://mochimag.com/2010/09/links-hannah-song-forever-committed-to-a-cause/|archive-date=June 16, 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Hannah's Open Road|url=http://roadtripnation.com/leader/hannah-song|work=Roadtrip Nation|accessdate=May 7, 2013|archive-date=May 31, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531180538/http://roadtripnation.com/leader/hannah-song|url-status=dead}} LiNK's headquarters are currently located in Long Beach, California.{{cite web|title=Homepage|url=http://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/contact/|publisher=Liberty in North Korea|date=2017}}

LiNK's revenue more than doubled between 2008 and 2009.{{cite web|last=Ju|first=Oh Yun|title=LiNKing North Korea in the U.S.|url=http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02500&num=8370|work=Daily NK|date=7 November 2011 |accessdate=May 7, 2013}}{{cite web|last=Suh|first=Esther|title=LiNK's Hannah Song: Forever Committed to a Cause|url=http://mochimag.com/2010/09/links-hannah-song-forever-committed-to-a-cause/|work=Mochi Magazine|accessdate=May 7, 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130616151643/http://mochimag.com/2010/09/links-hannah-song-forever-committed-to-a-cause/|archive-date=June 16, 2013|url-status=dead}}

In a TEDx talk entitled "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGCVyI7x1kA Changes in North Korea]", given in Tripoli, Libya, in 2012, Song said that while "many people have written North Korea off, saying that it is hopeless," the fact is that "North Korea is changing," and that that change "is being driven by the people." The change is not at "the level of high politics" but is "on the ground." Although the country is "still incredibly closed off and incredibly impoverished," the changes that have occurred in the last ten years have also been "incredible," and if they continue, a dramatic transformation is "inevitable."{{cite web|title=Can North Korea change? Hannah Song @ TEDxTripoli|url=http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxTripoli-2012-Hannah-Song|work=TED Talks|accessdate=May 7, 2013}}

She spoke at an event, "North Korea's Political Prison Camp System and the Plight of North Korean Refugees," held at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles in October 2012, sponsored by the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK), The Simon Wiesenthal Center, and LiNK.{{cite web|title=A Call for Action|url=http://kacla.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/LA-Conference-Flyer-English.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204080322/http://kacla.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/LA-Conference-Flyer-English.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 4, 2013|work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea|accessdate=May 7, 2013}}{{cite web|title=North Korea's Political Prisoner Camp System and the Plight of North Korean Refugees: A Call for Action|url=http://www.hrnk.org/events/events-view.php?id=5|work=The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea|accessdate=May 7, 2013}}

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• [http://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org LiNK Website]
• [http://www.libertyinnorthkorea.org/our-team/ Bio: Liberty In North Korea]

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Category:American human rights activists

Category:American women human rights activists

Category:Human rights in North Korea

Category:Nonprofit chief executives

Category:American women nonprofit executives

Category:American people of Korean descent

Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)