I am very pleased to introduce the first edition of our English newsletter, 「Peace & Sharing」. The title says it all: we are seeking to spread Korean NGOs’ voices on peace and sharing from the Korean Peninsula to the international community, This naturally includes organizations and individuals devoted to humanitarian activities in the DPRK. We have long desired to share the news and stories which are developing in Korean civic society regarding inter-Korean peace and assistance, and it is truly something that it has finally come to fruition.
The Korean Sharing Movement, since its foundation in 1996, has strived to improve the humanitarian situation in North Korea. Up to the late 2000s, KSM played a leading role in assistance activities and annually clocked up over 60 visits to Pyongyang and surrounding project areas (that is over five every month!). It was also a period when KSM was able to interact with international organizations working for the same ends, including those residents in Pyongyang and those visiting Seoul.
Over the last ten years, during which time our visits to the North and cooperative projects have been greatly curtailed, we have been afforded time for reflection. In retrospect our past works fell short in some aspects, not least is the acknowledgement that there was room for improvement in communication with the international community involved in the DPRK. Our co-hosting, along with Gyeonggi Province and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Korea Office, of the International Conference on Humanitarian and Development Assistance to the DPRK since 2009, is at the forefront of our forays to promote exchanges with partners abroad and redress said previous lack of communication.
When the conference was held in Bangkok in 2012, we put forth the idea of translating Korean NGO’s works and sharing them with the international NGOs and uploading them to the DPRK HCT (Humanitarian Country Team)'s homepage. We are a little late, but we are excited to finally unveil our first English letter, abound with the latest views and voices of South Korea’s civic society. We hope this publication becomes a catalyst for the international community’s deeper understanding of Korean NGOs’ positions and thoughts in developing humanitarian conditions in the North. Concurrently, we expect it to be a means of broadening coordination among peacemakers across the globe.
If all goes to plan, 「Peace & Sharing」 will be delivered monthly. We sincerely hope this letter becomes part of the impetus for furthering cooperation between UN organizations, international NGOs, and all who strive to build peace on the Korean Peninsula as well as allowing you the opportunity to hear the voices of South Korean civil society. Thank you.
Kang Young-sik
Korean Sharing Movement Secretary-General
