Read the previous story about Mi-Yeon Park’s advocacy project here.
Mi-Yeon Park, sophomore International Studies major, has returned from the Clinton Global University Initiative, held at University of Miami this past month. She met with student leaders, celebrities, and activists from across the world and received advice on how to proceed with her project, titled “Remember Her Name.”
“Service as an Educational Tool” and “How to Fundraise” were among the sessions Mi-Yeon attended during a weekend of networking and information sharing about carrying out service projects.
Mi-Yeon will be working to help educate and prepare North Korean female refugees in South Korean for life.
“It’s about empowering North Korean refugees,” says Mi-Yeon in reference to her project, which she will be unfolding throughout this summer in South Korea.
She has teamed up with two different non-profit organizations, called Citizens Alliance For North Koreans and Teach North Koreans, who she connected with through social media.
Though this project has promise and Mi-Yeon is committed to making a difference for this marginalized refugee group, she is open about the extreme obstacles she may face.
“I might experience a lot of negative opinions,” Mi-Yeon explained in justification of her community service ambitions. “Not a lot of South Koreans think very positively about refugees in South Korea.”
It’s safe to say Mi-Yeon has taken the phrase and activity “community service” to an entirely new level – and she will soon take it across the globe.
—Jack Meyers