Q1. Please introduce yourself briefly!
Hello, I am Hajin. I am currently studying sociology at university, and I want to keep studying as long as I am able. My goal is to live, as far as I can, as a person who is at least not harmful.
Q2. Please tell us your motivation for joining MAP.
I once volunteered at another NGO related to migrants. It was when COVID-19 first broke out, so I could feel up close how migrants were excluded as the state hurriedly created response policies. I had always been interested in human rights, but I did not know much about migrants’ human rights in Korea, and that activity is what made me start to take an interest. I also learned that refugees are the most vulnerable among migrants in Korea, find it hard to have their legal status recognized, and have few resources. In particular, a friend had experience working as a MAP volunteer, so when she recommended this activity to me, I readily applied.
Q3. When do you feel most like yourself?
When I am naturally looking after other people’s happiness! I tend to remember well what people like and dislike, and without trying to, I find myself worrying about whether everyone is all right and doing well.
Q4. What do you think our society needs most right now in order to become a better society?
I keenly feel the need for those who speak to listen better, and for people who have only been able to listen to be given a chance to speak. For example, I think we need to actively put a megaphone to migrants’ voices, and that people in the majority should listen to and empathize with the position of minorities.
Q5. What gives you your own small but certain happiness?
I like everything I can do with my hands. Drawing, writing by hand, making things, cooking and playing instruments, for example. Sometimes when I am stressed, I deliberately make time to draw or bake bread, and it feels like I am securing a small but certain happiness.
Q6. What is something you have never done but want to try in order to discover yourself?
I want to live abroad for a long time. I once took a short solo trip abroad, and watching how I behaved and what choices I made without anyone I knew around felt like discovering myself anew. If I stayed abroad for a long time, I think it would be an opportunity to look back on my life while adapting to a new society and building relationships.
Q7. Finally, what kind of ‘change’ do you want to bring about through your work at MAP?
I am still lacking, and my period of activity will be relatively short, so rather than expecting to bring about a huge change, I want to be of at least some help to MAP’s work. I have joined the research support activities, and I hope the research I help with can broadly make known the negative impact that disaster situations have had on refugees’ lives, and the strength of refugee communities. I will work hard! :>
