North Korean defectors undergoing resettlement education in the South will put some of their newly acquired skills to the test by extending assistance to people in need within South Korea as part of an ongoing monthly volunteer program.
Seoul’s Hanawon resettlement center will provide defectors with the opportunity to engage with the local community through a joint program with the Korean Red Cross. The initiative entails visiting senior citizens who live alone and other vulnerable members of society across a number of neighborhoods in Seoul.
The defectors will cook meals and bake bread using the skills that they learned during their resettlement training and deliver the food to households in need. Hanawon said it expects this to imbue trainees with more confidence about the resettlement process and help them gain a more comprehensive understanding of South Korean society.
The resettlement center said it hopes the upcoming volunteer session will give the participants the opportunity to spend time with others ahead a major Korean holiday, Chuseok–a time when many defectors long for their families and hometowns they have left behind.
Some 80 defectors will take part in the program alongside staff members from Hanawon and approximately 20 Red Cross volunteers.
