A policy meeting of the chiefs of the Youth Standing Committees was held for two days starting Feb. 11 at Yoosung Hotel in Daejeon to share the directions of activities of the Youth Committee of NUAC in 2015 and to prepare the blueprints of unification movements by the youth to celebrate the 70th anniversary of independence.

The leaders of the Youth Councils of 17 major cities and provinces and 228 chiefs of the Youth Standing Committees and Vice-chairpersons from all over the country attended the policy meeting. “The opinions of each chief of the Youth Standing Committee will be of great help in promoting the policy for 2015. I am very pleased to hold a policy meeting of the NUAC Standing Committee on Youth here in Daejeon, and it will be the power that will move NUAC,” Daejeon Municipal Chapter Vice-chairperson Park Sung-bae said in his welcoming speech.

Hyun Kyung-dae, Executive Vice-chairperson of NUAC, gave a special lecture titled “National Unification by the Power of the Youth.” “I appreciate all the efforts of the chiefs of Youth Standing Committees for the past one and a half year. I believe you should be an honorary ambassador in daily life to explain unification and enhance the people’s interest in it,” he said.

Hyun emphasized 3 essential conditions to achieve national unification: the cooperation with surrounding countries, the selection by the people of North Korea, and our own efforts. “In particular, national unification depends on how much we desire unification and whether we are ready to sacrifice for it. NUAC as well as the young members should lead the unification movement including improvement of human rights in North Korea as a pioneer of national unification. Action! It is what the youth should take,” he stressed.

The lecture by Prof. Kim Young-soo of Seogang University, titled “Subjects to be practiced and strategic thoughts to prepare for unification,” drew great responses from the audience by introducing materials that they can sympathize with and episodes he had with North Korean officials. “We need good ideas to convince them that unification is needed, and having good understanding of North Koreans and developing the image of unification are required,” Prof. Kim said. He suggested fostering next generations preparing for unification and emphasized that our efforts for achieving peaceful unification should continue generation after generation.

Shin Eun-sook, director of Council Member Activities Bureau of NUAC, gave a report on the “2015 Plan of Women’s Business.” On the other hand, NUAC Spokeswoman Anna Kim reported the “Current Status and Operation of NUAC SNS.” According to the spokeswoman, NUAC’s Facebook page provides the participants with gifts and encourages them to give various opinions on the unification movement.

The “Case of Promoting the Hand-in-Hand Campaign” was presented by three municipal chapters: Yangcheon-gu Municipal Chapter of Seoul, Jeonju of Jeollabuk-do, and Jinju of Gyeongsangnam-do. Members of the three municipal chapters became mentors for the young North Korean refugee students; they had cultural experiences with the students, watching a musical together and touring Jeju Island to help them understand the society of South Korea. In addition, the three municipal chapters presented their programs of providing North Korean refugees with medical checkup and helping them find a job to help them settle successfully in society.

“I think the Hand-in-Hand program best represents NUAC. North Korean refugee students in middle and high schools in the district ask to join the program, and some local residents want to join as well, saying that NUAC is doing good things for them. It was not easy to gather young North Korean students in the beginning, but they are now willing to participate in the program; their parents write to us, appreciating our help and efforts,” said Namgung Geum-sun, member of the Yangcheon-gu Municipal Chapter of NUAC.

NUAC Secretary General Park Chan-bong had a unification dialogue with the young council members and mentioned the history of the Korean peninsula, which is located between the surrounding super powers. “All Koreans should have one mind to achieve a unified Korea and should not fall behind them. Chiefs of the Standing Committees on Youth should play a key role in combining the will of the people. We should consolidate our strong will for the youth movement of NUAC to be developed more systematically in 2015. The NUAC Secretariat will provide all-out support for it,” he vowed.

The attendants suggested education to enhance awareness of national unification among the youth. “We will ensure the internal stability of the current programs including the quiz contest on unification and writing to North Koreans. Note, however, that we do not have special programs for college students at the moment. It can be studied through the discussion with the chiefs of the standing committees on youth,” he said in response. Some attendants asked about the possible problems in the business since the term of the 16th NUAC members will expire soon. Secretary General Park replied that about half of the current council members would be assigned again; thus guaranteeing the continuity of business.

Meanwhile, the young council members showed great interest in the group discussion and presentation of its results. They exchanged lots of opinions on the plan to promote unification projects by the youth to commemorate the 70th anniversary of independence by each municipal chapter.

Various programs to celebrate the 70th anniversary of independence were suggested, such as “Mock Congress Debate by College Students (Seoul),” “Unification Talk Show of the Youth (Gangwon-do),” “Academy Fostering Next-Generation Unification Leaders (Jeollanam-do),” and “Unification Festival (Incheon).” Many municipal chapters including Chungcheongbuk-do and Gyeongsangnam-do announced that they would enhance awareness of unification by organizing “National Unification Clubs of College Students.” The suggested programs will be finalized through further modification and supplementation by the municipal chapters and NUAC Secretariat.