by Minseo (Emily) Jung
This summer, I worked as an intern at the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) in Seoul, South Korea for two weeks from June 17 to 28, 2019. The HSF is one of six non-profit political organizations in Germany headquartered in Munich with offices in about 35 countries around the world. One of the branches is in Seoul, South Korea. The HSF’s primary mission is to provide various education and training programs around the world in connection with the integration of fundamental democracy, peace and international understanding.
Especially, the ultimate goal of this HSF in South Korea is to help the reunification of the Korean peninsula peacefully. Currently, the HSF is implementing the same strategies that were used for Germany’s reunification on the Korean peninsula. As an intern, I was involved in research activities, translating work, organization materials which were brought directly from North Korea, and attending a conference organized with partners of the HSF. I worked on weekdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
My favorite task as an intern was attending conferences as a representative of the HSF. On my third day working as an intern, Maren, another German intern, and I attended a conference in Seoul to represent the HSF. The theme of the conference was “Urban North Korea: Changes and Exchanges”. At first, I was rather nervous to attend, since I knew there would be many experts, who have been studying about North Korea for many years. On the other hand, I was just starting to learn about North Korea. Little did I know that this opportunity would become one of the best learning experiences about current issues in our society and possible future solutions. It started at 1:30 pm and ended at 6:00 pm. Even though it lasted more than four hours, I learned so much information about North Korea that I would not have learned anywhere else. I was worried that it was going to last too long, but all the presentations were refreshing, which engaged me to focus during the conference. Experts from all over the world have been investing in North Korean architecture, economics, tourism, and economic integration to help them reconstruct the cities, which will hopefully lead to peaceful unification. I did a brief summary about presentations or the panel discussants in order to report to HSF. Through this conference, I have learned how much North Korea has improved and how hard other experts are trying to reunify the Korean peninsula peacefully.
Working Environment
Even though I was youngest worker at the HSF, I wanted to complete all the tasks in a professional manner as well as other adult interns. Thankfully, all the employees approved of my work and I was able to become close with most of the employees in a short amount of time. The working atmosphere at the HSF was not strict, and all the employees were kind and easy to talk to, which helped me feel more comfortable.
Overall
Working as an intern at the HSF in Seoul, South Korea was one of the most incredible experiences that I have ever had. I would not have learned all the information about current issues of North Korea and all the efforts that are being made for the reunification anywhere else. Since there is not much information about North Korea for the public, I never had a chance to learn so much about the country. However, through this opportunity, I have learned a lot about North Korea, including its architecture, economy, innovation, and reunification of two Koreas. I was most interested in reunification because there are many different ways to have a peaceful reunification on the Korean peninsula.
By working as an intern, I have also learned many computer skills through analyzing pictures and translating and managing the website. Since I have translated many documents from Korean to English and vice versa, I have also learned many new concepts including new definitions and acquired a lot of new information related to politics, economic, and international issues.
Finally, this internship program provided an opportunity for me to study international, economic, and political policy, and to develop a broad view on the complicated problems in our global world, especially issues related to North Korea. Thus, I want to thank Garwin Family Foundation for providing me a wonderful opportunity to participate in this internship.