My Summer Interning at the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR)-Summer 2011

October 11, 2011

student, Rainer Crosett, a 2011 intern at NKHR in Korea

I spent this past summer interning at the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights (NKHR), as part of the Korea Summer Internship Program. I can say without a doubt that it was the most educational, enjoyable, and transformative summer of my life. Throughout the program, I simultaneously had the opportunity to learn the Korean language, advocate for North Korean human rights, meet North Korean defectors, and explore Korean history and culture through the dynamic city of Seoul. The integration of these various practical and experiential forms of learning made my summer uniquely valuable.

While I was not expecting to improve my Korean significantly through this internship, as I could only do work in English, I was surprised at my progress throughout the summer. In my workplace, I had the opportunity to practice Korean in a natural and practical setting on a daily basis. I learned ways of speaking that I had never read about in textbooks or heard from my professors. This language immersion also enabled me to learn specific words and expressions that pertain to human rights work and North Korean issues, which will be useful for my future studies and work in the field.

My daily activities in the office involved the organization of events and campaigns intended to raise awareness about the North Korean human rights situation. Often when I had extra time, I took advantage of the unparalleled resources in the NKHR office to learn more about North Korea, specifically the political prison camp system, in which hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are currently living. Through both our intern training camp and regular work at the office, I also had the chance to meet and even befriend several North Korean defectors. The conversations I shared with them throughout the summer were nothing short of life-changing. I think specifically to one defector’s harrowing tale of escape through China and into Mongolia, where she walked through the desert for days until reaching a village and finally getting help.

Most importantly, though, NKHR emphasizes a need to look past socially constructed notions of the “North Korean identity” and seek out defectors’ true identities, an end achieved only through friendship and bonding. Thereby NKHR plants the seeds of reunification and reintegration, after which South Koreans will be able to join with North Koreans in a world with fewer borders.

In actuality, I was primarily interested in coming to Korea because I wanted to search out differences in conceptualizations of human rights and human rights activism in non-Western cultural and political contexts. While I did learn extensively about the complex political and social dynamics in South Korea regarding North Korean issues, I finish the summer with renewed confidence that the essence of human rights is, in fact, universal. The activists at NKHR hear defectors’ stories and simply wish to bring greater peace and human dignity to the world through their daily work.

With new friends and connections from my internship as well as the Harvard-Ehwa exchange, I enjoyed exploring Seoul and other parts of Korea during my time off. I will never forget the many experiences we shared and the memories we created.

I wish to thank the Korea Institute for providing me with this truly unparalleled summer opportunity.

Rainer Crosett, '14