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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE December 12, 2007
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| October 30, 2007 |
Nurturing Active Citizens: Peace and Green Scholarship Project Scholars |
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The Korean Scholars in the midst of a seminar. From left: Shin Suwon, Nam Jimin, Ko Chang Woo, Chung Heejung (intern), Yang Jaeyong and Choi Huikyung |
In collaboration with the Korea Green Foundation, an organization which focuses on peace, environmental and cultural issues, Peace Boat is hosting five university students and one intern as part of the Peace & Green Scholarship Project. This is the first time the scholarship has been offered, and participants have been taking part in their own programme since the departure of the 59th Voyage in September. Including activities both onboard and in ports, the programme is focusing on environmental, conflict and human rights issues. |
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The scholars receive certificates of acknowledgment on Peace Boat’s behalf from The Center for the Rehabilitation for Victims of Agent Orange in Viet Nam |
The project was initiated to foster mutual understanding at a grassroots level between South Korea and Japan, 60 years after the end of World War II. According to Peace Boat staff member and programme coordinator Cho Jinhye, the Green Foundation is interested in aiding people who are contributing to the peace movement, both now and for the future. ‘The scholars’ time on Peace Boat provides them with an excellent opportunity to think about the state of the world in terms of conflict and peace, as well as giving them opportunities to think about environmental issues while being exposed to the reality of the situation,’ she said.
In meeting this end, their programme will focus on these themes:
- The Viet Nam War
- Palestine
- Climate change
- Cuba – organic policy
- Japanese colonialism
- European environmental policy
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| With Agent Orange survivors in Viet Nam, Peace Boat staff and photojournalist Hirokawa Ryuichi |
While onboard the ship, the scholars' days are filled with attending and organizing lectures, seminars and workshops. Because of the international community onboard Peace Boat, the scholars communicate in both English and Japanese. They are also exposed to different ideas, educational methods and have ample chances to engage in discussion with people who harbour different viewpoints. In ports, they have participated in programmes which tie in with the themes they have been discussing onboard. For instance, in Viet Nam they attended a rehabilitation center for Agent Orange victims and saw firsthand the devastating environmental and social effects of the lingering herbicide. They are also connecting issues faced in contemporary South Korean society with the issues they are confronting on Peace Boat. They held a presentation, for example, in which they discussed South Korea’s involvement in the Viet Nam War, and the conundrum of compulsory military service for men in South Korea. ‘We have to think about our own society in terms of these issues,’ said Ms Cho. |
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| Nam Jimin gives her self-introduction wearing a traditional Korean dress, or hanbok |
Scholar Nam Jimin, a graduate student in Environmental Studies at South Korea’s prestigious Seoul National University, said that her motivation for applying to the programme was ‘to meet many NGOs in the world related to the environment. After the journey I want to share it with people through my blog. And I want to write a book about the experience.’ Suwon Shin, an Industrial Design major at Kukmin University, applied because she wanted to ‘meet people around the world and see different kinds of cultures.’ She hopes to represent her experience visually through pictures. In addition to their formal study programme, they have been holding Korean language classes, showcasing Korean culture through self-organised events and discussing issues raised both within their own group as well as with Global University students and international students from Germany's Tuebingen University.
Ms Nam hopes that after the programme she will maintain the same high level of motivation and desire to make a positive difference. ‘After our program in Viet Nam, I realized that when I meet someone in that place, I can access that problem easier than before. After this journey, I want to know more about peace and war. Before that I only studied about the environment and climate change. I’m going to think globally, act locally.’ Ms Shin commented that ‘before I got on Peace Boat, I didn’t know much about the world. I thought it would be a good way of making contact with the world, and finding the things I can do to make a contribution as a human being, while having a lot of experiences.’
Because information about Peace Boat in Korean is not yet widely known, the scholars want to raise its profile by sharing their experiences with their friends, universities and networks. They also want to raise awareness about issues they have encountered onboard Peace Boat in South Korea, and promote Article 9, the pacifist clause of the Japanese constitution. ‘Through this project we hope to create people who will be very actively involved in our society,’ said Ms Cho.
Find out more about the Korea Green Foundation at: www.greenfund.org/greenfund_eng
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