By Mary Leong
North Korea – just the name conjures up images of a hugely isolated country with a totalitarian regime. This UBC student hopes to break down barriers through learning and engaging with North Korean university students within the country.
On June 5, Altay Otun will head to North Korea as part of the Pyongyang Project. The Pyongyang Project is a non-profit grassroots movement founded in April 2009 by two university students. Its mandate is to build trust and promote mutual respect between North Korea and the global community by facilitating dialogue between North American and North Korean university students.
A Political Science major, Otun is no stranger to global issues. He completed an internship in Northern Cyprus where he worked with the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, followed by an internship in Palestine where he worked with an NGO that specialized in food security. He is also part of the External Model United Nations team at UBC, and will be competing for the university at World MUN in Singapore in March.
Otun’s interest in North Korea was first sparked through an Anthropology class, where students participated in a videoconference session with students from Seoul National University in South Korea. He found the South Korean students’ hesitation when speaking about North Korea fascinating. After reading an article about the P’yongyang Project in the BBC, Otun decided to apply, and was eventually selected to participate in the program from among thousands of applicants.
“As a westerner I wanted to know more about the issue, and decided to apply in order to get a first person perspective,” said Otun.
During Otun’s stay in North Korea, he will be travelling to several universities in North Korea, South Korea, and China to discuss the future of the Korean Peninsula with students, professors, NGO workers, and government officials.
“Our goal is for all program participants to create a consensus document outlining suggestions for building a peaceful and prosperous Korean peninsula,” said Otun. “This consensus document will be sent to influential think tanks and academic institutions such as The Asia Society and The Korea Society in New York, as well as participating host universities.”
When asked about the possible difficulties connecting with students who have lived such different lives from his, Otun said that he hopes to draw upon his own experiences in Palestine a few summers ago. Though he acknowledges that Palestine is a far more open society than North Korea, he believes that the people he meets in North Korea will also change his paradigm.
“When I traveled to Palestine a few summers ago I had the same worry. Reading articles about Palestine and watching editorials on the news made me believe that every Palestinian student was a “radical” and was more interested in fighting than getting an education. I was completely wrong. When I traveled to an-Najah University in Nablus I found that the students were just like us – studying under the trees, getting a bite to eat before classes, texting their friends, and just being students.”
“I am very excited to listen to what the students have to say and suggest a plan for peace to policy makers in Washington and Ottawa,” said Otun. “The only thing I am really nervous about is the plane. I have a terrible fear of flying.”
