Q1. Please give a brief introduction of yourself.
Hello! I am Lee Ji-hyeon, who joined MAP as a volunteer for the first half of 2023. I am currently studying the Southeast Asian region at university. Recently I also became interested in environmental issues and the human rights violations that accompany them, so since last year I have been double majoring in environmental management.
Q2. Please tell us why you joined MAP and what you do.
Last year I carried out a project with children from multicultural families in a university club, and it firmly convinced me that the cultural diversity these children have is not a reason for them to be discriminated against but a potential that can contribute positively to Korean society. However, I thought that discriminatory perceptions of people with diversity still remain in Korean society, and that social support for refugees and migrants who need help is insufficient. I joined because I wanted to go beyond supporting individuals as a student and help create change at the structural level as a MAP volunteer.
Currently I belong to the Displaced team and the Peace Academy team. On the Displaced team, I write a newsletter that introduces domestic and international news, research cases and cultural life related to refugees and involuntary migrants. The Peace Academy is a program that starts this year. It builds an education program that trains refugee activists and strengthens the capacity of existing practitioners at civic organizations and social welfare institutions to act as refugee supporters. There I am in charge of supporting recruitment and the running of the education.
Q3. What do you think our society needs most right now to become a better society?
I think we need questions. I believe every meaningful change begins with refusing to take for granted what was considered natural, so if we keep asking questions in various areas, we will find many parts that need improvement.
Q4. What gives you a small but certain happiness of your own?
I like going to band concerts, and I went almost thirty times last year. I have always liked listening to band music, and I think its great appeal is that I can set aside practical worries and concerns for a while and enjoy a brief moment out of the ordinary, immersed only in the stage.
Q5. Is there something you have never done but would like to try in order to discover yourself?
I want to form a band with friends and stand on a stage. So far I have only played together with friends occasionally, and I wonder how it would feel to perform in front of other people.
Q6. Finally, what kind of “change” do you want to bring about through your work at MAP?
I want to contribute to making Korean society one that understands refugees better. I hope Korean society will understand the lives and identities of refugees as agents living in reality, rather than viewing them as objects of prejudice and discrimination or as passive recipients of charity. I also hope I can contribute, however slightly, to creating that change.
