Education South Korea Project #14657

Learning Freedom: Help Educate North Korean Youth

by Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights

Learning Freedom: Help Educate North Korean Youth

Project Report | Jul 13, 2018
North Korean Fulbright Scholar and Ph.D candidate

By Joanna Hosaniak | Project Leader

Some of our donors may remember Sungju, a former North Korean street-child, our former student and now also a consultant on refugees at our organization.

Sungju has long been dreaming of continuing his academic studies and was recommended for Fulbright Scholarship by our organization. Upon receiving his scholarship, he will start his Ph.D. program this September in Washington. Sungju belongs to a first group of North Korean students who succesfully resettled in South Korea and who will start their advanced academic programs in the U.S.

Apart from being a consultant for our organization and raising funds for relief activities for North Korean refugees, Sungju appears regularly on TV program and has also published his second book in Korean. The book documents his process of adjustment in South Korea and how he self-taught himself English language. His first book, Every Falling Star was published in English for young international audience and is an account of his life as a street boy in North Korea.

Sungju took part in several programs run by the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights. He graduated with Magna cum Laude from Sogang University in Seoul, majoring in Political Science and M.A. from Warwick University in UK. He will now continue his academic path in conflict analysis and resolution at George Mason University.

In June, when our organization received Democracy Award in Washington, Sungju travelled with the senior management of NKHR and spoke to several members of U.S. Congress in his - now fluent - English. We are convinced that Sungju will become one of the leaders of peaceful re-unification between South and North Korea and that his example will positively influence young generation of North Koreans escaping North Korea in search for freedom.

NKHR is planning to assist its next group of bright North Korean students (all female!) interested in science and technology to find scholarships at U.S. colleges and universities.

NKHR has also been offering monthly scholarships (U$ 250) to North Korean students in order to support and encourage their commitment to education. This year, 12 college students and 1 high school student received scholarship each month. Special scholarship of U$ 9,000 was awarded to Sungju to support his living expenses in the U.S.

Links:

Sungju speaks in Washington

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Mar 21, 2018
Growing number of North Korean students choose science and enginnering

By Joanna Hosaniak and Ji-yoon Lee | Project Leader and staff

Science class

In order to help North Korean youth adjust to their school life in South Korea, NKHR runs a three-week school during winter break with a focus on basic academic instruction and training on life in a free society. In January we held our annual "live-in" Hangyoreh School with 26 North Korean students in participation. Students were offered full meals and accomodation. Major daytime courses included Korean writing, math, and English, which were taught according to the students’ levels.

Evening courses featured one-on-one tutoring sessions and special activities like art, physical education and playing board games. While playing unification simulation board game, students were grouped into six to represent six major cities in North and South Korea. They ran their cities with own economy plans and raised reunification fund. The fund could be utilized to help each other. After playing the game, students discussed the future of Korea after unification and gave presentations about the topic envisioning their roles in the unified country.

Yoon-ji, a student participating in the Hangyoreh Winter School for three years in a row, is now accepted in a prestigious university and will study computer engineering to pursue her dream. Noting that it would have been difficult to get the admission without participating in the Hangyoreh School, she said that she is planning to participate in the School next year as a volunteer teacher.

It is also encouraging for our organization to see that a growing number of the North Korean youth, especially girls are interested in science and engineering. Math is one of the most difficult subjects for North Korean students who did not learn it properly back in North Korea. Thus, seeing that some students advance to a level to be able to study science and engineering at the highly advanced South Korean universities is a wonderful trend and we are focusing our resources to help the North Korean youth to achieve these aims.

sports class

homework group study in the evening

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Dec 22, 2017
Together, we helped 170 North Korean students

By Joanna Hosaniak | Project Leader

Thank you from Citizens Alliance NKHR

As the year comes to an end, we would like to take a look at what we have achieved together with you, our generous donors throughout 2017.

We have helped 170 North Korean children and youth this year. At the beginning of the year, we held our regular Hangyureh School for 27 North Korean middle and high school students, focusing on alleviating their academic difficulties, fostering creativity, enhancing logic and increasing their awareness of their rights and freedoms.

Our one-on-one Mentorship Lessons, as well as the Career Mentoring Program has helped 20 students. One of the major goals of these programs is to help North Korea youth overcome difficulties in South Korean schools and pursue meaningful and successful careers now that they are members of a modern and free society. We also work to prepare them to get into the universities of their choice, which we successfully accomplished this year, helping four students pass their entrance exams and be admitted to top universities in South Korea. In addition, we provided 13 scholarships to both promising North Korean students as well as students who are in difficult positions to help them continue with their studies.

Our Leadership Program, which currently gathers 25 top North Korean students attending colleges and universities in South Korea, held their monthly meetings as well as training on transitional justice in Poland for three weeks during the summer. A graduate of this program, Yeon, also got her first job in one of the biggest South Korean commercial banks!

Every Saturday since 1999, our Education Team and passionate volunteers assist at Hanawon - the government resettlement institute - to help newly arrived North Koreans smoothly transition to reality in South Korean society. They held classes in Maths and English as well as adjustment programs for 84 students aged between 6-18 years old.

We did not forget about the sports, either! Our passionate L4 Soccer Team, consisting of 12 North Korean and 3 South Korean soccer players, met every week for training and took part in two South Korean soccer tournaments.

Finally, we are very proud to announce that one of our former students and now consultant of our organization, Sungju, who was a child begging for food back in the streets of North Korea, got his Fulbright Scholarship and will begin his Ph.D. program in the U.S. in the Fall of 2018!

Through GlobalGiving, between January 2017 and present, our education programs received a total of U$ 2,261 in donations. While we are already gearing up for the next Hangyureh School which begins on January 2, 2018 - we finish this year with conviction that together we have made a positive impact in the lives of many youth and we look forward to seeing a new generation of North Korean students grow into strong and successful young individuals.

Thanking you for your support, all of us at the Citizens’ Alliance would like to wish you wonderful holidays and a very happy New Year!

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