The HYPE Program combines inspirational speakers, unique learning experiences, and professional skills to help every student prepare for life after college.
Meet Michael Kim
Mike gave up a financial planning business in Chicago, Illinois and left for China on New Year's Day 2003 with a one-way ticket and little more than two duffle bags. He had learned of the hun-dreds of thousands of North Koreans fleeing to China in search of food and freedom along a 6,000-mile modern-day underground railroad, which runs from Pyongyang to Bangkok and he knew he could help. While living near the North Korean border, Mike operated undercover as a student of North Korean taekwondo, training and competing under two famous North Korean masters from Pyongyang—eventually receiving a second-degree black belt. He legally changed his name and conducted all North Korean operations while using an alias. He successfully led many sex trafficking victims to safety in Southeast Asia using drug trafficking routes in the region, all while enduring harrowing experiences, including interrogation, house arrest, and being held at gunpoint.