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Freedom & Democracy

North Korea

North Korea is one of the worst places on Earth. Its citizens are subjected to widespread human rights violations and are denied fundamental rights.

North Korea

“The desire for freedom, like the dignity of the person, is universal…. The North Korean people are pleading in silence for their freedom. And the world needs to listen. And the world needs to respond.”
— President George W. Bush

The Bush Institute works to advance policies that integrate human rights with national security and provides scholarships to North Korean refugees living in the U.S.

Lindsay Lloyd North Korea Freedom Scholarship

Established in 2017, the Lindsay Lloyd North Korea Freedom Scholarship is designed to help North Korean escapees and their children pursue higher education and build productive, prosperous lives. The scholarships are granted to students for vocational school, community college, university, and graduate-level studies. To date, nearly $350,000 has been awarded in the form of 84 scholarships.

Administered by Communities Foundation of Texas, these scholarships will support escapees in pursuing a range of educational opportunities, helping them to succeed and to build new lives in freedom.

North Korean scholarship eligibility requirements:

Applicants must be born in North Korea or be the child of someone born in North Korea; they must permanently reside in the United States as a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or refugee; or be a North Korean escapee with South Korean citizenship pursuing a degree in the United States. Previous applicants and recipients are welcome to reapply. 

Interested candidates can apply here. 

Our Team

Read David J. Kramer's biography.
David J. Kramer
David J. Kramer

Executive Director, George W. Bush Institute and Vice President George W. Bush Presidential Center

Read Igor Khrestin 's biography.
Igor Khrestin

Bradford M. Freeman Managing Director, Global Policy George W. Bush Institute

Read Nicole Bibbins Sedaca's biography.
Nicole Bibbins Sedaca

Kelly and David Pfeil Fellow George W. Bush Institute

Read Victor Cha's biography.
Victor Cha

Senior Fellow George W. Bush Institute

Read Joseph Kim's biography.
Joseph Kim
Joseph Kim

Research Fellow George W. Bush Institute

Read William McKenzie's biography.
William McKenzie

Senior Editorial Advisor George W. Bush Institute

Tom A. Bernstein, Chair

President and Co-Founder, Chelsea Piers, L.P.; Former Chairman, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Mike Abramowitz

President, Freedom House

Elliot Abrams

Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Scott Carpenter

Managing Director, Jigsaw

Paula Dobriansky

Former Under Secretary of State, Democracy and Global Affairs; Senior Fellow, The Future of Diplomacy Project, Kennedy School, Harvard University

Carl Gershman

Founding President, National Endowment for Democracy

Carlos Gutierrez

Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, EmPath

Allan Holt

Managing Director, The Carlyle Group; Vice Chairman, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Melanie Kirkpatrick

Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

Maribeth Kuenzi, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Cox School of Business, SMU

Nancy Cain Marcus, Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor, SMU

Derek Mitchell

President, National Democratic Institute

Natan Sharansky

Chair, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP)

Craig Stapleton

Former U.S. Ambassador to France and the Czech Republic

Dan Twining

President, International Republican Institute

Kenneth Wollack

Former President, National Democratic Institute

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