we are wolves24

March 7, 2018. PARCC Conversations in Conflict Studies Series. Seoungryeol Kim, Ph.D. Student in Social Science, Maxwell School, Syracuse University. At ten years old, Seongryeol Kim witnessed his first execution at a local market in his hometown in North Korea. These executions were part of his everyday life until he escaped to South Korea, just as had many thousands of North Koreans before him. Life in South Korea, while much improved, had created many barriers to integration. Seongryeol often faced discrimination by his South Korean peers for his background. Despite these challenges, he achieved academic greatness and made his way to the United States with a Fulbright Scholarship to study Chinese-North Korean foreign relations as a PhD student here at the Maxwell School. He discusses his upbringings in North and South Korea and how his experiences shaped his identity.