Empower Jin Ha's Dream for Peaceful Korean Unification

<Support Jin Ha for His Education to

Achieve a Dream of Making Peace in the Korean Peninsula>

Dear friends and kind-hearted strangers,

I am sincerely grateful for this opportunity to fundraise for my education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this letter.

As South Koreans, my parents have been missionaries in China since 2001, serving underprivileged people in North Korea and China. However, my father passed away in 2020 due to lung cancer. Meanwhile, my mother currently works part-time to assist my aunt who is seriously ill. I worked in a Christian NGO for a peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula for the past 6 years, so I have not accumulated much savings. By God’s grace, I got accepted to study at Teachers College, Columbia University for Ed.M. International and Comparative Education. Although I have been attempting to apply for various scholarships, I am not yet financially stable for tuition and living expenses in New York. I have paid about half of this semester's tuition and housing fees, and I need an additional $18,000 by the end of November.

I would very much appreciate your generosity to support my education. As I am committed to peace and reconciliation of the two Koreas, your support for my study would equip me to contribute to the future education system of a unified Korea. This could also be used as a tool to expand the Kingdom of God not only in Korea but also in developing countries that need love and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

<My Dream, Journey, and Motivations>

My dream is to contribute to the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula. To be specific, I am eager to establish a United Nations University in the demilitarized zone of the Korean Peninsula. Creating a peace model city centered on education could be an experiment as a pathway to the peaceful unification of Korea.

During my undergraduate studies, I focused on international relations and international law, because I believe policies and law would be salient for a unified Korea. As I dive into studies, I realize that a system alone is unable to change society. The system should be managed and supported by educated citizens. To teach and understand North Korean defectors, I decided to take the Teacher Education Program in addition to the double major. After graduating a university, I worked in an NGO for the peaceful unification of Korea. It was a worthwhile experience to grasp roles of the civil society through educating both North and South Korean students as well as international students and Koreans overseas. Based on my experiences in teaching, researching, and managing education programs, I hope to share the two pivotal experiences that significantly influenced shaping my dream.

First, I had an opportunity to teach and mentor a teenager at an orphanage in China for over seven years as a volunteer teacher. The twelve-year-old boy was shy with a tic disorder, but his eyes were alight with curiosity. The boy was born to a Korean Chinese father and a North Korean mother. He has not heard a word about his mother ever since she was caught by the Chinese police and repatriated to North Korea. As I mentored him, the boy grew physically and mentally with confidence in academics as well as self-esteem in communication with others. The boy became a university student, majoring in medicine. Through him, I have learned that consistent attention through education may change the life of a student. The purpose of education is to change one student at a time.

Second, my experience as an exchange student and a student teacher in Bethlehem, Israel-Palestine taught me that political and economic stability with a basic functioning infrastructure provides a safe environment for education. I had an opportunity to teach history to Palestinian students at an international school in Bethlehem including refugees. Through this unique living experience in the West Bank, I perceived that the potential of people can be bound if a society suffers from conflicts, unemployment, and corruption. Education also requires decent living conditions such as electricity and clean water. It made me question the possibility of providing a quality and inclusive education for Palestinian students amid conflict and ponder on the role of schools in educating both Israeli and Palestinian students by living together in peace.

To sum up, the above experiences led me to understand that education is powerful to change the life of a student. Nevertheless, the holistic approach of political and economic stability, an efficient national system, working infrastructure, decent living conditions, and supporting families and communities are necessary conditions for a healthy education environment. My experiences in education with graduate studies in public policy led me to seek further to integrate education and policy to fulfill my dream as an educator and policymaker.

< Objectives, Goals, and Contributions>

With research and study at Teachers College of Columbia University, I aim to contribute to building the education framework of a unified Korea and developing countries. Through the graduate program, I hope to develop and sharpen my quantitative and qualitative analytic skills. Learning research methods and evidence-based policymaking will enable me to tackle the aforementioned issues. I am keen to build a network with professors and colleagues around the world for equal education opportunities and access.

After graduate study in education, I am eager to build experiences in UN agencies such as UNHCR and UNICEF for refugee children education, or UNESCO and OECD for developing and analyzing international education policies. With sufficient field experience, I would like to seek a doctoral degree in education and teach at a university. I aspire to teach and inspire the next generation of leaders to serve Korea and the world. I also plan to practice my research through cooperation with governments, international organizations, and NGOs, especially in establishing a United Nations University in the DMZ of Korea.

My diligence and devotion to realizing goals with perseverance would positively contribute to peace in the Korean Peninsula. Drawing from my diverse experiences in South Korea, China, the United States, Israel-Palestine, and Germany, I hope to empower learners and leaders to build a just and equitable world. In God’s will, I also hope to be a humble instrument for the gospel of peace in the Korean Peninsula and the world.

Any contribution to support my education for Fall 2024, big or small, will make a significant difference and is deeply appreciated. Please kindly share this message and donate, if you can. I am also seeking additional scholarships, on-campus jobs, and private loans. If you have any advice, please let me know. Thank you so much for your kindness and generosity.

Sincerely,

Jin Ha Kim (Joe)