Giggles filled the classroom as students hurriedly passed a volleyball towards the front of class. The words “Let’s unite and become one” were taped on the ball. When the last person in line caught the ball, he lifted up a sign that read “I support One Korea.”
The games and discussions that followed were an interactive way to engage students to envision the possibility of Korean reunification and explore ways to bring about such an outcome. The program was part a Reunification Talk Concert hosted by Peace Youth Corps Korea, GK Strategy Center, the Ministry of Homeland Affairs and Global Peace Foundation Korea at First High School in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province.
The two-hour program, “Envisioning Our Desire for Reunification,” included topics like “Seeing the hope of reunification” and included speakers representing the Global Peace Research Institution and the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency, as well as a musical performance by a rising K Pop band.
“All of you who have gathered here are part of the reunification generation,” Kim Beak San of the Global Peace Research Institution told students. He introduced the “Korean Dream,” a vision for Korean reunification outlined in the book by Global Peace Foundation Chairman Dr. Hyun Jin Moon with the same title, to the students.
Up and coming K-pop group The King sang “One Dream One Korea” to an enthusiastic audience. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to sing about reunification to you,” said group member Sejin. He promised to continue to promote the campaign through other appearances and encouraged students to join in. “We don’t want just celebrities to carry this campaign, we want the youth of Korea to do this with us.”
The King is one among many K Pop bands, singers and other celebrities who are promoting the One K Global Campaign to engage people around the world to bring together a divided people centered on a common vision for a reunified Korea.
The youth who are the reunification generation need to be empowered with the correct perspective of reunification, organizers said. The Reunification Talk Concert series uses pop culture, sports and other media to educate Korean youth about the issue of Korean reunification, and helps them to envision possibilities and encourages action in any small or large way.
