Author Talks About Why He Left Successful Career to Help North Korean Refugees

Mike Kim gave up a successful career to give back. After hearing of the plight of North Korean refugees in China, he left his financial planning business in Chicago and booked a one-way ticket to China in hopes of helping."[Their stories] made me have sleepless nights," Kim said Thursday at a talk sponsored by the Dallas Holocaust Museum. "I didn't want to be a bystander." Kim wrote about his experiences in a book called Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World's Most Repressive Country. He shared a few stories from the book with a packed audience at the Communities Foundation of Texas.His trip also prompted him to found Crossing Borders, a nonprofit dedicated to giving humanitarian aid to North Korean refugees, many of whom are trafficked. Crossing Borders organizers have testified at a congressional hearing on human trafficking in China. Kim encouraged everyone "to find a cause and get involved," and he closed his talk by saying he's "encouraged by the human spirit." He also told the crowd the book is being developed into a feature film with actor/producer Daniel Dae Kim (Lost, Hawaii Five-O).Film screeningMagnolia at the Modern, an ongoing series of film screenings hosted by the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, will feature The Eagle Huntress at 6 and 8 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday and noon and 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday. The documentary follows Aisholpan, a 13-year-old nomadic Mongolian girl who is fighting to become the first female eagle hunter in 12 generations of her Kazakh family.Tickets are $9; $7 for Modern members; $6 for Reel People. The Sunday noon showing is half price. Advance sales begin two hours prior to each show. The museum is at 3200 Darnell St. Learn more at themodern.org.Of note  Continue reading...