JAIMIE FRANKLIN
Assistant News Editor
A new student organization advocating liberation in North Korea is gathering student support and planning a variety of events on campus for the spring semester.
As a new chapter of the larger organization, LiNK has worked to educate and raise awareness on campus about the dire human rights violations occurring in North Korea.
The group held a celebration chapel last week and plans to hold another convo program to show the documentary “Seoul Train,” host a coffee house event and possibly organize a themed week involving other organizations on campus leading up to Freedom Day.
LiNK was founded in March of 2004 at the 18th Annual Korean American Students Conference at Yale University. In fewer than three years, it has developed into an international organization with 70 chapters.
The organization works closely with governments, non-government organizations, coalitions as well as individual activists to raise awareness and assist North Korean refugees in escaping human rights violations.
Vice President Daniel Cho said the situation in North Korea represents the “bleak, helplessness of the [North Korean] people.”
According to the LiNK Web site, two to three million North Koreans have died of starvation in the past 10 years; 13 million people suffer from malnutrition and more than 200,000 political prisoners are housed in concentration camps throughout the country. Refugees attempting to escape into neighboring China are violently repatriated, facing imprisonment, torture and, at times, public execution.
In an effort to remedy the situation, LiNK orchestrates massive letter-writing campaigns, rallies, and demonstrations near North Korean and Chinese embassies.
They have also established 30 underground shelters in China as safe havens for refugees, including trafficked women and orphaned children.
“When you talk to people about North Korea, they think of nukes and a crazy dictator,” said Elliott Jones, public relations director. “We have to realize that the dictator is one man who is surely evil but we can’t ignore what’s going on.”
Cho agreed.
“North Korea is probably one of the most unknown human crises going on today,” he said. “LiNK is trying to raise awareness about the situation and talk to people who have the power to change.”
LiNK’s mission statement is “to educate the world about North Korea, to advocate for human rights, political and religious freedom, and humanitarian aid for North Korea, to empower citizens of the world to take effective action and make a difference, to bring together and support existing NGOs and other organizations working to achieve the same ends and to tell the world the truth.”
Chapter President Kevin Park believes the primary goal must be education.
“With knowledge people are put into action to advocate for human rights and empower citizens of the world,” he said. “The bottom line is to tell the world the truth. You can’t build a house without nails, screws, bricks and wood. [LiNK] chapters are building up a bigger voice because when more people know about it, there is more action.”
All are welcome and encouraged to become involved in the organization. Although a regular meeting time has not been set for the semester, those interested can contact Kevin Park at Kevin.e.park@pepperdine.edu, join the LiNK Facebook group, or visit linkglobal.org for more information.
“This isn’t a Korean-American thing,” Jones said. “I think it’s a terrible mentality to only care about things that directly affect you. It’s about human rights, not just North Korean rights.”
01-25-2007
