Page 43 - NKHR Hawaii Conference 2023

DR. STEPHEN NOERPER

Ambassador Turner, we’ve several questions that ask how can outsiders on the mainland
and people in Hawaii help the situation. One person asks,

“What can the average person who’s not Korean do to contribute to this
process or to change attitudes to promote freedom on North Korean human
rights?”

AMBASSADOR JULIE TURNER

One of the simplest ways that people can contribute whether you’re Korean American or
not is to help the growing number of North Korean refugees and escapees in the United
States—a few are here in Hawaii. I was just in Los Angeles before coming here and there
are dozens in Los Angeles, and many more scattered across the United States.

T ey need assistance from English language classes to simply making connections with
people. if you can imagine coming from one of the most repressive societies in the world
and then being dropped into the middle of Los Angeles. Oftentimes when I meet a
new refugee at the airport and take them on their first visit to Target of all places it’s
overwhelming for most of them. I’ve often walked them into the toothbrush aisle and said,

“Pick a toothbrush.”

And they just freeze!

We are looking for people who are willing to take the time to make connections, someone
to help build trust, right? I mean one of the great things about the ROK-US Alliance, the
people-to-people ties that I mentioned earlier, is building those relationships. Because of
the refugees that I met in Los Angeles, every single one of them still maintains contact
with a loved one back in North Korea and was sending remittances back to family
members, to help fund future reunif cations through the networks or just to make sure
that their loved one was still okay. You can have a really direct impact by just helping
those people be successful here and that also helps the bigger strategy.

Another thing that I’ve heard from many refugees is,

“I made the decision after thinking about my own life and the context of
what I was watching on the K-drama that I had viewed or what I heard

NORTH KOREAN HUMAN RIGHTS HAWAII CONFERENCE 2023 43