TwoForOne is a student-led club in Chadwick International which aims to help North Korean refugees, especially teenagers, to familiarize themselves with the South Korean culture. Based on the club’s previous experience, it also aims to deepen the understanding and empathy of the discrepancy between North and South Korea among its club members’ who belong to the present generation. In order to find out specifically about this club’s history and achievements, I’ve interviewed the two ladies who have served as the president of this club, Luna Hwang and Amy Kim.
“When this club was first created, the club members organized classes in a church where North Koreans attended. We taught them academic subjects for one week and made art projects in the following week. Interchangeably, we were switching the classes between art and academics weekly. However, the North Koreans in our church were mostly adults, so the kids whom we taught were actually South Koreans. Also, the children liked the art projects better, so they didn’t participate much in academic classes. Additionally, because the classes weren’t regularly hosted, the lessons we could teach the students were very limited.”
This year, TwoForOne started teaching English at One Dream School (Han Ggoom School) where the North Korean children attend. Having learned the mistakes of the past as lessons, the club members organized regular classes to teach these children long-term. “Because the students had their own schedules in school, we arranged our classes from 8 PM to 10 PM,” said Luna. “We started teaching them the alphabet and phonics. Now, they have begun to study Basic English. We had to plan the curriculum and prepare the textbooks ourselves.”
“When this club was first created, the club members organized classes in a church where North Koreans attended. We taught them academic subjects for one week and made art projects in the following week. Interchangeably, we were switching the classes between art and academics weekly. However, the North Koreans in our church were mostly adults, so the kids whom we taught were actually South Koreans. Also, the children liked the art projects better, so they didn’t participate much in academic classes. Additionally, because the classes weren’t regularly hosted, the lessons we could teach the students were very limited.”
This year, TwoForOne started teaching English at One Dream School (Han Ggoom School) where the North Korean children attend. Having learned the mistakes of the past as lessons, the club members organized regular classes to teach these children long-term. “Because the students had their own schedules in school, we arranged our classes from 8 PM to 10 PM,” said Luna. “We started teaching them the alphabet and phonics. Now, they have begun to study Basic English. We had to plan the curriculum and prepare the textbooks ourselves.”
The biggest challenge faced by the TwoForOne members was definitely on communication -- not only between the North Korean children but with the agencies as well. “The biggest hardship we dealt with was on communications with the agencies that we collaborated with”, Amy said. “Oftentimes the adults wouldn’t hear us out as much as they would with our parents because we were just students. In the past, our parents communicated with them, but there were times when our parents couldn’t always do it for us.” Therefore, our Service Learning head, Ms. Won, now facilitates our communication with the current agency that we are working with. Since then, it has assisted us a great deal in helping out those in need.”
TwoForOne is not only a club that helps North Koreans adjust to the South Korean society. On a bigger scale, this club aims to be the bridge which mollifies the conflict between the South and North Koreans. In order to educate the public about the widespread hatred and discrimination against the refugees, we’ve initiated several projects to raise awareness as well as to find solutions to this situation. Moreover, our club is planning to participate in the Global Issue Network Conference (GIN) to share this issue not only with the Korean society, but with the global community as well. In the future, we aim to connect with Hanawon, South Korea’s largest refugee facility so we can meet and help more North Korean refugees.
TwoForOne is not only a club that helps North Koreans adjust to the South Korean society. On a bigger scale, this club aims to be the bridge which mollifies the conflict between the South and North Koreans. In order to educate the public about the widespread hatred and discrimination against the refugees, we’ve initiated several projects to raise awareness as well as to find solutions to this situation. Moreover, our club is planning to participate in the Global Issue Network Conference (GIN) to share this issue not only with the Korean society, but with the global community as well. In the future, we aim to connect with Hanawon, South Korea’s largest refugee facility so we can meet and help more North Korean refugees.
Yenah Jang, G11
Chadwick International
By Yenah Jang