The True Work Of Unification v2.0

In 2000 I realized my long held dream and moved to South Korea. I lived in Korea for 21 years, mostly in the suburb of Seoul called Hanam City. ONE of the most meaningful things I was able to do in Korea was to become an advocate for refugees from North Korea. These are folks who risked their lives to escape from the North and make their way to South Korea. I I met many of them through out Seoul teaching them English, creating and practicing speeches, and learning their stories.

I eventually learned that there were around one hundred and sixty refugees from North Korea living in my hometown, Hanam City. Once refugees are able to reach South Korea they go through a process of resettlement. They spend their first three months with the National Police Agency where they tell their stories and are vetted as genuine refugees. Next they go to the Hana Foundation, a government agency for education to help them adjust to their new environment. This takes about four months.

After they graduate from the Hana Foundation they are released into South Korean society but as you can imagine, they still need lots of support. They are given a small stipend for a couple of years and are assiìgned an apartment to live in. In the past I have been aware that many were settled in the area between southwest I Seoul and Suwon. I assumed that this was due to the availability of low cost housing

In the meantime, the city of Hanam, an eastern suburb of Seoul, has gone through a housing boom in the newly developed district known as Misa. Many thousands of housing units have been constructed and a percentage of them are designated as for low income occupancy. Thus it is no surprise that Hana Foundation began placing North Korean refugees there two years ago.

The progressive, proactive Mayor of Hanam, Kim Sang Ho, decided that it would be appropriate for the city to do something to support the refugees. He initiated the Hanam City North Korean Refugee Commision and asked me to join.

On October 25th 2019 Mayor Kim convened the first meeting. Various local organizations sent representatives including the local refugee group, Social Welfare department, the Lifelong Learning Center, the Police Department, the Hanam Global Center, and others. They each gave proposals of what they could do to support the refugees.

Here is the talk that I gave.

Hello everyone. You may be surprised to see my foreign face at this table but I do have more than three years experience working with North Korean refugees and I would like to share with you.

As a TNKR (Teach North Korean Refugees ) volunteer English teacher and speech coach I have come to know more than twenty refugees. TNKR is an NGO founded six years ago by an American, Casey Lartigue, and a South Korean, Lee Eunkoo. They specialize in matching volunteer English teachers with North Korean refugees. The matched pairs meet, one on one, for

a minimum of three months to study English. In addition, TNKR also has organized ten English Language Speech contests for refugees. I have coached and mentored four ladies in preparing and delivering their speeches.

More than 70% of the refugees who reach South Korea are women. Due to their vulnerability, they often suffer abuse during their sojourn through China and other countries. Since they are classified as economic migrants and not refugees by China, they have no legal protection and are often sold into the skin trade or as second wives to Chinese men. In order to survive they have to do things that may scar them for life.

Those who are sold to Chinese men become trapped not only by violence and threats of violence but also when they concieve children that anchor them to some pretty dark circumstances. Some have to leave these children behind in bad situations in order to flee to South Korea. There are a whole lot of guilty feelings, regrets, and self recriminations there. In most cases they can’t or don’t want to reveal such things.

I’ve heard reports that refugees experience significant discrimination in South Korean society. Mr. Ken Eom, a TNKR student, was warned after Hana Foundation to be careful about his northern accent and what he revealed about himself. He tells the story about the time he applied for a job at a gas station. Because of his accent he was asked,

“Where are you from, China?”

“I’m from North Korea,” he sheepishly replied.

“We’ll get back to you,” he was told.

Ten years later, with a masters degree in Media from Korea University, he is still waiting for that call, he says with a big grin.

He didn’t finally overcome his shame and embarrassment over where he was born until he went to Canada to study English. There were students from many countries, including South Korea, in his ESL class when he reluctantly revealed his birthplace. To his surprise everyone including the teacher were excited to know someone from such an exotic place. He became a star and learned the value of self-acceptance.

I often ask NK people when I meet them; are you North Korean, South Korean, or Korean? Usually they are taken off-guard by this question and have to think about it before answering. In order to make one nation again there are several key ingredients, land, sovereignty, and most importantly, people. After seventy years of separation, the Korean people have become strangers. The real work of making one united country is to bridge this gulf and become one people again.

As for me, I see a great opportunity to begin that work right here in Hanam. The people born in the north who are our neighbors now are our greatest asset in that work. By reaching out to them, welcoming them, and making real human relationships with them we will be doing the essential work of unification.

Commision best serve our new neighbors? Educational, social welfare, and recreational programs can all be used to facilitate social networks between people. I would like to see small groups form where South Koreans can get together with our new neighbors for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake. Through genuine connections between people many barriers can be erased. We can learn a lot by listening to folks.

These words are from Yuna Jung’s speech at the 10th TNKR English Speech Contest.

“We need to be proactive and approach them (South Korean people) first. We need to give them opportunities to meet North Koreans and adjust their thinking. Playing soccer together, singing together, and talking together are natural ways to come to understand each other. We need to change their impression.

What do you think would happen if unification suddenly occurred? Our new, united Korean peninsula would become a very exciting country for generations to come. And we, born in the north and living in the south, can be the bridge.”

Through authentic personal relationships we can overcome the problems of preconceptions, ideological differences, and social economic issues. I can’t help feeling that this is the work we have been born to do.