NK Missions Team
Together, we serve North Korean defectors in Seoul and in Busan
Lou Gallo, executive director
Lou’s passion to work with North Korean refugees came from meeting and hearing the stories from the first defector he met over five years ago. Hearing about the horrible conditions in NK moved Lou to do something. A few months later, Lou and his wife Lisa hosted a concert at their church to raise funds to assist in the escape of a NK orphan. The child now resides in the United States.
In 2014, Lou and Lisa started NK Missions to assist North Korean refugees assimilate into free societies. Lou speaks at conferences and in churches on Korean unification and raises awareness of the human rights atrocities in North Korea.
Lou, Lisa, and their youngest daughter, Alyssa, live in Busan, South Korea. In addition to serving as the Executive Director for NK Missions, Lou teaches at Jangdaehyun School for North Korean refugees, and serves as an English Pastor at Suyoungro Church in Busan. He has a BS from Rochester Institute of Technology and Advanced seminary training from Westminster Theological Seminary, through CCEF’s online course administration. He has been a Pastor for 30 years in New York, Virginia and now in Busan.
Contact Lou at lou@nkmissions.org.
LISA GALLO, director
Lisa met and hosted her first North Korean defector over 5 years ago in VA. She was not prepared for the impact that would have on her life. Since then, through this community, she has met some of the dearest people and her burden for North Korean refugees continues to grow.
Lisa attended Cortland University, majoring in Education. She homeschooled her five children, two of whom went on to earn advanced degrees and two others run their own companies. Currently, her youngest daughter, Alyssa, is enrolled in a Korean University studying Musical Performance. Lisa has over 25 years of experience teaching and influencing young people.
After helping host a fundraising concert at her home church to free a North Korean orphan, Lisa started NK Missions with her husband, Lou. She currently resides in Busan with Lou and their youngest daughter, Alyssa. She teaches English at Jangdaehyun School and considers working with the precious students a divine experience. The stories of their lives make her aware of the great strength and power they possess and their determination to work hard and make a difference in their world. They have won her eternal love and respect.
SoYoung Park, advisor, teacher
Life is full of surprises. In high school, SoYoung told herself that she would never become a teacher. It’s her fifth year now at Jangdaehyun School teaching English to students from North Korea, China, and South Korea. They have become her passion and she is enjoying every moment with them.
Growing up, SoYoung lived in both South Korea and the U.S., having moved numerous times between the two. The experience helped her understand what it means to be a foreigner in a country or a newcomer at a school – a quality that helps her today at Jangdaehyun School. She enjoys working with teachers and students from other ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
She received her BA in Communications from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL. And her MA in TESOL from Biola University in La Mirada, CA. She enjoys traveling, visiting art museums, ordering delivery food, and searching for ESL materials online. She lives in Busan, South Korea with her wonderful husband, Youngjin.
Becky Brower, Advisor
Becky is a 2015-2018 Fulbright Korea English Teaching Assistant from upstate New York. She came to Korea for the first time in 2013 for a study abroad program at Korea University in Seoul and chose to return after feeling a connection to the Korean culture.
Prior to living in Busan, Becky worked in two rural elementary schools in Uiseong, Gyeongsangbuk-do. There, she gained a passion for teaching and working with Korean students, which she then brought with her to Jangdaehyun School in the fall of 2017. After meeting Lou and Lisa Gallo, she was inspired to join their cause by helping new missionaries prepare for teaching North Korean refugees, and for living in Korea.
Becky graduated from SUNY Cobleskill in 2014 with a BA in Communication Technology and is TESOL certified. After Fulbright, she plans to continue to work in international education either in the U.S. or in South Korea, while assisting NK Missions with their support of the defectors.
Hannah Lechmann, TEACHER
Hannah's desire to serve among North Koreans began while reading the “Voice of the Martyrs” magazine during her elementary school years. The Lord gave her a heart to pray for North Korea and the persecuted church. At 7 years of age, she knew she wanted to become a missionary. Years later, while studying at Moody Bible Institute, she helped launch a prayer
group for North Korea that is still meeting on campus, interceding for the salvation and reunification of North and South Korea.
In 2016, she interned for the summer with Youth With A Mission in South Korea, teaching at an English camp. This is where she first met Lou & Lisa Gallo and the students of
Jangdaehyun school. Her time with them during the camp was a confirmation of her desire to serve among North Koreans.
She returned to the U.S. after her summer internship to complete her degree in Communications at Moody Bible Institute, and complete a TESOL certification at the University of Illinois through Oxford Seminars before returning to Korea in 2017. Hannah currently lives in Busan, serving as a missionary teacher to North Korean students at the Jangdaehyun school.