[INTERVIEW] Teaching and learning from North Korean defectors

From left in the front row, Kim Min-jae, Song Hyung-min and Gu Hyo-won, former leaders at the Global High School Union of the Freedom Speakers International (FSI), smile at its office in Seoul, July 10. From left in the second row are FSI co-director Lee Eun-koo, Shim Te-ri, Lee An-su and FSI co-director Casey Lartigue. Lee An-su, 17, from Yongsan International School of Seoul, and Shim, 17, from Seoul Foreign School, will lead the union over the next year as general director and vice general director, respectively. Courtesy of FSI

'They are just like us': Teenage volunteers share their experiences at FSI

By Jung Min-ho

Nuclear weapons, starvation and gross abuses of human rights: North Korea is the country everyone loves to hate. For many of those who used to live there, such negative images are among the many challenges they face when trying to start anew elsewhere.

High school students who have volunteered to assist North Korean defectors settle in South Korean society said one of the best things that came from their hands-on experiences ― raising funds and teaching them English ― was the realization that North Koreans are just like them.

Three volunteers shared their experiences interacting with North Korean defectors at the Global High School Union, the Freedom Speakers International's (FSI) support group of more than 100 students from 40 schools in Korea and overseas.

Among the most unforgettable memories for Gu Hyo-won, 17, a former co-director, was the three days he spent with his North Korean peers for an education program.

"It did not take long for us to become intimate as we were around the same age," Gu said in a recent interview. "One noticeable difference we had was the type of worries each of us had, which came from different circumstances. While most South Korean students, supported by family and friends, were concerned about school issues, many of those from the North did not receive such support and spent much time thinking about how to fast achieve financial independence … They were not much different, and that's the way we should look at them."

Gu, a student at Valor International Scholars in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, hopes that the new Yoon Suk-yeol administration will encourage more such interactions, which he believes help North Koreans adjust to life in the South and erase prejudices about them.

Song Hyung-min, 18, a former co-director who graduated from Asia Pacific International School in Seoul earlier this year, said his three-year experience at the FSI profoundly affected the ways he views the world and his own life.

"My time there changed many of my thoughts, about them and how I should live my life," he said. "I would also like to participate in more volunteer work like this when I'm in college. I hope I can play a role in changing people's lives positively."

Song, who had been indifferent to North Korean defectors living in the South before volunteering there, said he later found himself putting a lot of passion in as he taught English to a person who was taking the opportunity to learn seriously.

From his own experience, Song understands the people who pay little attention to North Korean defector issues. However, as their voices slowly changed him, he believes they can change others too.

Listening to their stories of surviving and escaping from the North was motivating and heart-wrenching at the same time, said Kim Min-jae, 19, who was involved in raising funds for the FSI. He also graduated high school at Seoul Scholars International early this year.

"I was touched by their bravery and will to act. I was also sad that they had no other choice but to escape," Kim said. "I used to have a prejudice about North Koreans such as aggressive or ignorant images … As I spent more time working for and with them, I realized they were the opposite of what I thought they were … I also felt we are all Koreans."

Kim, who is set to start his first semester at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, said he plans to study computer science and use his expertise to help the underprivileged.

"For now, I am a novice programmer, but as I grow, I want to continue to help good causes. My experience at the FSI-GHSU has served as the foundation for my plans," he said.

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