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TNKR conducts Hana Foundation Workshops (2018 September)



TNKR has partnered with the Hana Foundation to help North Korean refugees and South Korean students get prepared for a joint trip to Germany. I was the featured speaker yesterday with assistance from TNKR co-founder Eunkoo Lee and Bring My Father Home project manager Youngmin Kwon,

How did this happen?

1) North Korean refugees were bragging and talking about us! And in some cases, they would even complain at larger organizations for not supporting us. According to one, he complained to South Korean government agencies and government officials for not supporting us.

2) We became a stronger organization, so the Hana Foundation could trust us with programming. When we were a fly-by-night association without even an office or government recognition. So many people who would ask us "how are you going to spend the money" didn't realize that we needed to have money in the bank, not spend money like it was water in our hands. When we got stronger, we were no longer a risk for an organization like the Hana Foundation to partner with.

* * *

Two weeks after that event on 9/15, we had another workshop. That second event featured Germans talking about German reunification and drawing comparisons (and also debunking some parallels). We again were the facilitators of the workshop.

2018-09-15














2018-09-29

Yesterday TNKR conducted a second workshop getting North Korean refugees and South Korean natives prepared for a joint trip to Germany. 

The students also heard a speech about German reunification and also participated in a group building session. It is another example of TNKR being sought after by larger organizations to help conduct their activities. 





















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