- Why and how was your club established?

General human rights groups already existed within the university, including an “Amnesty Sookmyung Branch,” but there was lingering dissatisfaction at the way they did not bring up the North Korean human rights issue. HANA was launched in the midst of this slowly growing interest in that issue. The club was organized with the guidance and encouragement of Professor Hong Kyu Duk of the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy.

- Do you mean the same Professor Hong who headed the Ministry of National Defense’s Defense Reform Office from 2009 until quite recently?

The very same. We are a student group, but we set the foundations of HANA under the active leadership of Professor Hong, and when he was with the Ministry of Defense we cooperated on a range of activities. He recently returned to the school, and of course still helps us a great deal.

- What is the meaning of the group’s name?

It is an acronym meaning “Humanitarian Action for North Korea.” We picked “A” as it’s the last letter in “Korea.” It represents our group’s desire to put the greatest emphasis on a humanitarian approach to North Korea.

- What are the chief activities of the group?

You could say it’s half academic, half outside-the-university. We do academic stuff weekly. Seniors give a Powerpoint presentation on a topic related to North Korea, while freshmen listen carefully and ask questions and debate the points that come up. We’ve done various topics: “What is the definition of North Korean human rights?” or “Different national policies on North Korea,” “The North Korean power structure,” “The keynotes of each presidential candidate,” those kinds of thing.

Our external activities involve an annual “NIS field trip” and this type of “riceball event.” We’ve been visiting the NIS since 2011. We visit their modern facilities, the like of which you might have seen in films, and do target practice at their internal firing range. It all gives shape to the concept of national security, which would otherwise be an abstract one. The “riceball event” sees us distribute riceballs on campus, because this is the food of many North Korean children. The aim is to give first-hand experience of the amounts some North Korean children eat on a daily basis.

- How many riceballs is that?

One. And that one rice ball is very small. Sometimes there is a little bit of sand or stones in it, too. In order to offer a realistic experience, we seriously considered putting sand inside ours. We were fearful of the side effects so we didn’t do it. Either way, the event still made students more aware of the situation. We have been doing the “riceball event” regularly since 2006, and now it seems that students are aware, to some extent, of the problem of North Korean human rights.

- Does the group have a particular political leaning?

Aside from consensus on the challenge of improving North Korean human rights, members of this university group harbor diverse political leanings. This can make it hard to discern any political position for the group itself. For example, if we debate a particular policy towards North Korea, such as the “Sunshine Policy” or “Vision 3000,” heated arguments will arise and there will be no consensus. That just goes to show the strength of our joint conviction that North Korean human rights are a very important issue.

- What is the biggest challenge your group faces?

Firstly, building up our group is a key goal. HANA was once the most active and capable human rights student group in the Seoul region. But now there are just over 20 group members, and only about half are actively engaged. If our size is too small, our voices won't have a strong impact no matter what the message. In the future we want to attract many more of our fellow students.

- What are your upcoming plans?

In the second semester we will do that field trip to the NIS, and our riceball event. We are also pushing ahead with plans for a field trip to Hanawon, the education center for new arrivals from North Korea.