These days, Model Congress is one of the most common activities of Korean students. However, very special Model Congress took place on Sept. 7 at the National Assembly of Korea. Approximately 120 students from high schools of Seoul and Geunggi province gathered together to participate in the simulation congress and speech contests concerning the North Korean Human Rights Act.
In recent years, bills on North Korea’s human rights had been proposed in the National Assembly but failed to pass for fear that they should strain inter-Korean relations. This year, the ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun submitted the bill once again, calling for humanitarian aid to North Koreans to improve their human rights.
The participants of the Youth Model Congress were divided into Saenuri Party and Democratic United Party, the two biggest political parties of Korea. They had heated debates upon the benefits and harms of the act. They also had discussions on specific policies for providing humanitarian aid, backfires and diplomacy issues, and implications towards reunification of Korea. The whole process of the Model Congress followed after that of the real National Assembly.
Besides the mock congress, many participating teams took part in the speech contest. There were three big speech topics: North Korean human rights seen through their youth, youths’ role in solving the problem, and the necessity of the act.
To encourage the students, several members of the National Assembly gave speeches about the importance of the role of youths in North Korean issues. The host of this event and a National Assembly member Cho Myung-chul, who is also a North Korean defector, stated, “Be involved. Be aware of what is happening in your fellow country. When youths are interested in this issue and determined to fight for North Koreans’ human rights, it will gain power, and politics will just follow.” A few North Korean defectors shared their extraordinary quest of survival and painful memories of political prisoner’s camps as well.
The atmosphere of The Youth Model Congress at the National Assembly was earnest and passionate enough to motivate the participants to have continuous concerns about the North Korean human rights problem. Han Sol Jung, a 10th grader from Korean Minjok Leadership Academy said, “Politics actually change the world. I felt the importance of passing the North Korean Human Rights Act as a part of a progressive step towards reunification of Korea.”
