Home » THAILAND » Extraordinary Travel Festival 2026 to Host Keynote by North Korean Defector, Exploring Travel as a Means of Freedom and Survival Published on
February 17, 2026Image generated with AiThe Extraordinary Travel Festival 2026, set to take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from October 22–25, will introduce a groundbreaking keynote speaker who will transform the event’s conversation on travel. For the first time, the festival will feature a North Korean defector, whose escape from one of the world’s most repressive regimes offers an inspiring and harrowing look at travel as an act of survival and defiance.This year’s festival promises to expand the conversation on travel by highlighting not just the joy of exploration, but the human struggle for freedom. While the festival has traditionally focused on extreme adventures and milestone travel accomplishments, the addition of this keynote speaker will shift the dialogue to include those for whom travel is not a choice, but a desperate need to escape tyranny and oppression.Travel as an Act of Defiance and SurvivalThe Extraordinary Travel Festival has always been a space where adventurers and explorers share their tales of pushing boundaries and achieving extraordinary feats. However, the inclusion of a North Korean defector as a keynote speaker introduces a new layer of complexity to this conversation. This individual’s journey is a profound example of travel not as a luxury, but as a necessary means of survival. In their case, travel was an act of resistance, a way to break free from a brutal dictatorship that controls its citizens’ every move.Advertisement AdvertisementDefection from North Korea is fraught with unimaginable risk. The speaker’s escape involved leaving behind everything familiar: family, home, and an entire life. They embarked on a perilous journey through hostile and unfamiliar territories, where every step could mean capture, torture, or even death. Unlike many travelers who set out on journeys to explore, this individual’s escape was driven by the need to find safety and freedom—goals that many of us take for granted.A Journey Rooted in Courage and HopeAdvertisementAdvertisementBorn and raised in one of the world’s most isolated and authoritarian countries, the speaker’s decision to defect was not a simple one. In North Korea, any act of defiance is met with brutal consequences, including imprisonment, forced labor, or execution. Yet, despite the enormous …
