Opening a door for change in North Korea
As a Korean American, something that always felt divided with me was North Korea. Growing up in a Christian household, I believed that North Korea was a wasteland of Christianity, and it was a dystopian totalitarian country with no personality or communities.
However, in 2023, I signed up to take an internship at the Korean Church Coalition. This internship required me to write an essay on North Korea and give a speech in Washington, D.C. at the National Press Club or the Capitol, and this program helped pique my interest in North Korean culture, society and the people in general.
I started digging further into the lifestyle and communities built within North Korea, and I discovered a video about Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST). The video, while it was short, offered a peak into North Korean life. Rather than the isolated and beat down North Korean society I had expected, one university, albeit a unique one, was welcoming, embraced outsiders and each other, and helped one another change. The professors and teachers were American and were sponsored by evangelical and humanitarian aid organizations to teach in North Korea. These individuals showed me how North Korea wasn’t a total wasteland that was isolated from the rest of the world, but it was a community of helping one another and enjoying the time that they got to spend at the university.
For example, one of the biggest points in the PUST video was the PUST “World Cup,” which pitted the entire school body against each other for a football game in which everyone participated in. The sense of community in PUST really helped show that North Korea wasn’t an isolated villain or something to be afraid of, but just a group of people that live in different circumstances than I did.
Unfortunately, traveling to North Korea as a Korean American remains near impossible today due to a U.S. travel ban, which was imposed after the tragic passing of student Otto Warmbier during a North Korea visit. However, this policy should be reconsidered. The travel ban has been renewed annually since its introduction in 2017. The ban's most recent renewal is effective until Aug. 31, 2027. Another extension should not be passed as the travel ban to North Korea would prevent the entry of humanitarian aid and outside contact with Pyongyang. The Soviet Union began its decline because the ideas of democracy and the freedom of speech and religion eventually spread in the country.
Therefore, the first step into opening North Korea is to interact with them. Small humanitarian aid, small interactions through visits and small acts of kindness like teaching at their universities. Such efforts could help bring about changes to North Korean society, and the United States needs to act now.
As a global leader in spreading the idea of democracy and freedom, the United States must take initiative and not renew the North Korea travel ban, setting a precedent that the United States is willing to help, rather than act as an enemy. As a Korean American and a Christian, I firmly believe that simple efforts, such as writing this opinion piece, will contribute in ensuring a better future for the people of North Korea. I pray that the North Korean people will be reunited with South Korea one day. I believe that simple acts — independent organizations sending humanitarian aid or religious organizations advocating for the oppressed to see the beauty of the Gospel — are the ones that will truly make a change in the future. The first step is to change the small things.
Jayden Ki is a rising junior at Portola High School. He can be contacted at jydnk01@gmail.com.