North Korean Refugee Mobility, Settlement and Activism
On November 13th the Centre for Korean Studies co-hosted an event with the Migration Research Group at the University of Sheffield looking at policies and practices around refugee settlement in the UK and South Korea. A delegation from the Korea Hana Foundation attended as part of an official visit to the UK, and their Director of Public Relations, Young-Hui Kim shared about the work of the Foundation in the resettlement of escapees from North Korea.
We were also joined by Francesa Morton from Migration Yorkshire, who presented on her organisation’s work with asylum seekers and refugees from a wide range of origins in the UK. Timothy Cho, a North Korean refugee and activist settled in the UK, shared his experience of adjusting to life in the UK within the UK refugee settlement framework.
Students and staff in attendance took part in a Q&A session after the presentations, where experiences and views were exchanged regarding the many challenges of social and economic integration faced by people fleeing violence and persecution in their home countries.
Following the roundtable event, the Korea Hana Foundation delegation and Dr Sarah Son from the Centre for Korean Studies visited a local refugee support organisation called the Sheffield Project for Refugee Integration and Growth, to learn more about the work of civil society organisations providing support for refugees in our local community.
