Exclusive: U.S. Ambassador Steel Visits Defector School, Shares North Korean Roots
The Chosun Ilbo · Kim Min-seo ·
Exclusive: U.S. Ambassador Steel Visits Defector School, Shares North Korean Roots Ambassador, whose parents fled North Korea, encourages students to overcome challenges during Busan school visit
U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Michelle Steel was confirmed on the 28th to have visited an alternative school for North Korean defector youths in Busan and met with students. According to Jangdaehyun Middle and High School, the alternative school for defector youths, Ambassador Steel visited the school on the 23rd and spent 1 hour and 30 minutes having lunch and conversing with students. Ambassador Steel reportedly encouraged the students, saying, “My parents are also from North Korea. I have lived in the same position as you with parents who defected from North Korea.”
Ambassador Steel, the daughter of a displaced person who fled North Korea during the Korean War (6·25) and took refuge in Busan, was born in Seoul in 1955 and immigrated to the U.S. with her family in 1975. Before immigrating to the U.S., she spent her youth in Japan following her father, a diplomat.
Ambassador Steel shared this experience with the defector students, saying, “I faced many difficulties during my youth because I couldn’t speak the language well while living in another country.” She added, “I hope you will gather strength, challenge your dreams and goals, and overcome the difficulties you face now.”
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