Learning Freedom: Help Educate North Korean Youth

Each year since 2001, we have been offering our special program for North Korean children and youth resettling in South Korea - the Hangyoreh School. The students usually attend regular South Korean schools and during the school break, they come to our program to receive special assistance with the subjects that cause them most difficulties at schools. During the recent program, we taught English, Math, Korean, as well as extracurricular subjects to 25 students for three weeks. The North Korean students also learned about democracy and what it means to be an active citizen of a democratic country.

However, the Hangyoreh School (Meaning: One nation) is much more than just an academic assistance program. It offers North Korean students an opportunity to spend valuable time with South Korean teachers and volunteers, make friendships and learn about the South Korean society in a way they will never learn from textbooks. It is also a great opportunity for South Korean volunteers to interact with the North Korean students and learn about their lives in North Korea and their problems in adjustment in South Korea. As such, the program is a small-scale reunification project run in this still divided country, with no other possibility of people-to-people contacts and exchanges.

Do-eun-3rd year in Catholic University of Korea Department of Economics

The most unforgettable part of my experience in Hankyoreh School was the passion that the students showed. Before class, I believed that there were many students who lacked effort. After a couple days, however, the students showed diligence and focus and I realize that these students’ grades were poor because they simply lacked the opportunity to receive formal education. I was proud of the students for their effort, but on the other hand, it made me concerned that the educational needs of some kids were not being fulfilled solely because of their birthplace.

Soo-yeon-3rd year in Hongik University Department of English Education

The Hankyoreh School finally came to an end, but it still doesn’t feel like it did. For my grandfather returned alone from North Korea after the Korean War, I believe it was destiny that brought me and Hankyoreh School together. The program had a special meaning to me because I had such a background. I’m truly happy that I was able to make great memories with the students and other teachers during these 3 weeks.

Ha-young-4th year in Kyung Hee University Department of Philosophy

I seem to always learn a lot more than what I teach in volunteer work, and this program was no exception. There were students who would never lose grip of their pen until solving a problem, students who felt time flying when studying, students who found studying enjoyable, students who did their best in their position regardless of the age gap among peers, students who never lost focus even during recess and students who studied English during lunch and dinner to become a translator. It was a far cry from what you typically see in a South Korean high school study hall. I dare say the Latin phrase “Sapere Aude” seemed apt to label these students.

The Hangyoreh School is fully funded by private and individual donors. This year, U$ 1,119.45 came from the generous donations of our Global Giving donors and constituted 10% of the total cost of the program. 

Thanking you for your continous support, the NKHR Team would like to wish great summer vacations to our wonderful donors!

One of the major goals of the program is to help youth from North Korea pursue meaningful and successful careers now that they are members of a modern and free society. Back in North Korea they lacked the freedom to chart their own career paths. In North Korea, the profession is chosen by the government, and it is largely based on family’s place in the country’s rigid political and social hierarchy. NKHR’s career training program helps young North Korean students navigate the difficult decisions integral to finding fulfilment in their careers. The career training program typically spans nine months and includes visits to college campuses throughout Seoul, college entrance information sessions, career exploration activities, and one-on-one mentoring. The program introduces new academic and career tracks that match students’ interests and talents.

One of the integral parts of the program is to prepare students to enter the universities of their choice. This process starts with interviews with the NKHR’s staff to learn about the students’ interests and scholastic aptitude. The process of writing their letter of purpose - an integral part of the university entrance application process – follows and lasts several weeks. This is the most difficult part for all of the North Korean students, from the choice of vocabulary to the content; practically everything has to be corrected. The NKHR’s staff helps the students to improve the letter and asks the students to bring the upgraded versions, sometimes few times. This is very disheartening for many of the students, who become disappointed with their lack of ability to write even a letter of introduction. We show them however previous of their writings to prove to them how much they improved and to encourage them.

The next stage of the program is the college entrance exams preparation. Each university has different requirements for the North Korean students; the top universities require both writing and oral tests, others may require only interview with the applicant based on their application letter and previous school documents. The NKHR staff prepares the students for both exams. We hire specialists which offer mock interview sessions to the students. During the sessions, the students learn everything, from proper greetings to engaging in a small talk and self-introduction based on what applicants have written in their letters of purpose. The students are also mentored on the most common questions appearing during the interviews and evaluated based on their individual performance during the mock interview. Many students are also offered Korean language and pronunciation assistance, to learn to speak with confidence and understandably for the interlocutor and to learn to look at the interlocutor. Majority of North Korean students learned to not raise their heads while supervisor in North Korea talked to them and so, they have a bad habit of avoiding the other person’s sight while having conversations. They also tend to speak quietly and with lack of confidence.

Majority of the students choose 5-6 universities to apply. Many of the students that went through our program were accepted to 2 or 3 universities. This leaves them with the happy choice of selecting the one that is most suitable for the student.