ENoK was founded in 2011 by an undergraduate student at the University of Chicago. In its early years, ENoK organized several high-profile peaceful demonstrations against the repatriation of North Korean refugees by the Chinese government and also several events about North Korean refugees’ experiences and possible futures for the Korean Peninsula.
On September 27, 2014, ENoK officially opened the doors of Empower House, a refugee home near the University of Chicago campus where North Koreans are welcome to live as they participate in ENoK’s programming. ENoK held its first graduation ceremony for a participant in June 2015 when a refugee successfully passed her GED exam to receive high school–equivalent credentials, marking the first of many successes where North Koreans have met and exceeded the goals they set for themselves.
To date, more than thirty North Koreans have improved their English language skills, earned GEDs, or worked towards other academic goals in partnership with hundreds of ENoK volunteers. Of the refugees who have participated in ENoK’s programming, more than one-third have pursued higher education during or after their time at ENoK.
ENoK is currently run as a joint effort by its founder, another UChicago alum who began volunteering during the first year of Empower House’s operations, and a North Korean refugee who had previously lived at Empower House when she was learning English and studying at a Chicago-area community college.