20 members from the Students Alliance for

Human Rights in North Korea [Young NK], staged a flash mob devoted to peace and

unification on the Korean peninsula in the bustling university district of

Daehakro, Seoul on August 7th. The final event in a campaign launched on July

29, the mob titled “One Unified Korea” aimed to boost public sentiment about

unification issues facing the Koreas.

Vice-president of Young NK Park Jeong In, a

senior at Sungshin Women’s University, explained that the event urged people to

“collaborate with defectors to achieve unification and disseminate accurate

information about human rights in North Korea. She stressed that “we can’t just

wait for unification to happen; the young generation needs to actively plan for

it.”

The organization hit most major cities in

South Korea on the campaign trail, hosting a range of events including: a photo

exhibition drawing attention to human rights in the North, selling handmade

bracelets bearing messages of hope and unity, and North Korean cuisine

tastings.

Lack of information on North Korean

human rights in Korean Contemporary textbooks was among the criticism highlighted during the events; brochures were distributed urging

young people to take it upon themselves to see that these texts were revised

accordingly.

Senior Researcher at NK Net Kim Young Hwan

spoke to a group of university students in Busan on August 5 as part of the

campaign. Kim spent 114 days detained in Chinese prison for engaging in

activities related to human rights in North Korea.

“In reality, unification is going to be an

agonizingly difficult process,” Kim said, drawing on a wealth of experience

in related matters. “It’s up to the

young generation to make concerted efforts toward unification and improving

human rights in North Korea.”