Q1. Please briefly introduce yourself!
Hello! I am Lee Yun-hui, a doctoral student majoring in counseling in the Department of Education at Korea University. I am truly grateful to be able to volunteer at MAP. I am interested in understanding the psychological difficulties that people with multicultural backgrounds experience while adapting to Korean society. I am also interested in the attitudes and behaviors of Koreans, as the majority, toward people with multicultural backgrounds. Through research and counseling, I want to think about what efforts each group can make so that Korea, now a multicultural society, can create a more inclusive environment.
Q2. Please fill in the blank in ‘I want to be a 000 volunteer’!
I want to be a consistent volunteer who works hard from beginning to end. Rather than burning with enthusiasm at first, working too hard, and then becoming lukewarm toward the end, I want to keep a steady, warm temperature at all times.
Q3. What do you think our society needs most right now to become a better society?
I think we need an accurate understanding of one another and the ability to empathize. These days I often find myself thinking, ‘Why on earth is that person like that?’, and when this thought goes too far, conflicts arise between people or between groups. At that moment, if we have an accurate understanding of the situation the other person is experiencing, we come to think, ‘Ah, that could be the case,’ and then go further to think, ‘We have something in common here. We all have our own difficulties.’ For this kind of mutual understanding to develop in our society, I think we need the ability to empathize, to listen well to the other person’s story and to explain our own situation well.
Q4. Finally, what kind of ‘change’ do you want to bring about through your work at MAP?
I hope that people with Korean nationality will come to understand the situation and difficulties of refugees better. It will not be easy, but I plan to first share what I learn while working at MAP with the people around me. Then, like ripples on a lake, would it not spread to many people? Although we each have different life histories, I hope that we will find common ground within them.
