Ignis Community's April Update

We cannot believe it is already April! It's amazing to see the weather warm-up as nature beautifully blooms again. Along with much of the world, Ignis Community is warming up after a year of COVID-19 hardships. It has been an incredibly tough year for many of us in 2020 and may still be right now. Our normal activities halted due to border closures, but we are happy to announce that we do have counterparts working diligently on the ground. Children with developmental disabilities are continuing to receive treatment by visiting the hospital you helped Ignis build. And although it is bittersweet, we are grateful that work remains ongoing despite border closures. Meanwhile, we are hoping and praying that the doors will reopen for Ignis team members to return to the frontlines ourselves.

We also have a special announcement! Our co-founder Joy Yoon launched her newYoutube channel called “Discovering Joy”. One of the things Joy's family has learned was to treat disabled children in Pyongyang and share with their parents the joy of being found in a difficult and hard environment. Joy and Stephen's two youngest children have developmental and physical disabilities. Joy works as an educational therapist to educate and train children and parents with pediatric disabilities.

Her hope is to encourage and share training experience tips with many parents who are enduring similar challenges. This is a program for parents who think their child has a developmental disability or their learning ability is delayed. And these training are the training that children and parents do together at home. Not only in hospital or treatment facilities, but at home, parents can do it in everyday life with their children. Although the videos are in Korean, you can always turn on the English subtitles! Please comment, subscribe, and like Joy's new Youtube channel!

Our team has been wanting to connect with new faces, donors, and friends so we encourage you to sign up for our newsletters. Through these newsletters, you can hear about various events we hold virtually. We’d love to connect with people who are interested in Ignis Community and the work we do in North Korea. You can subscribe by visiting our website and clicking on “Subscribe to Ignis” at the bottom of the page.

We also encourage you to reach out to us any time. We want to be transparent and share updates if you are curious! You can always contact us and ask questions at any time.

This journey is not easy, especially in the midst of the current worldwide pandemic, but as our name suggests, Ignis Community is all about igniting hope to the hopeless. Without fail, we are determined to keep pressing forward and bring hope to the children of North Korea.

Ignis Community Team.

Shifting the Paradigm: North Koreans are People, too!

*Article derived from Joy Ellen Yoon’s blog

Ask the average American what they think about North Korea, and you may receive the following responses: “North Korea is an axis of evil… a tyrannical dictatorship that poses a nuclear threat to America.” “North Korean leaders care little for their own.” “They cannot be trusted.” “North Korea is unpredictable and volatile.”

Almost all the information fed to the American public supports these statements. The news, the research, and articles published on North Korea unilaterally declare the same message. Americans view the DPRK negatively, tainted by a political lens and bias. As one of the few remaining communist regimes, they are our enemies, we believe.

In reality, what does the United States have to do with a country half-way across the world? The answer may shock you. Whether you are aware of the facts or not, the U.S. has not only been intricately involved for years on the Korean Peninsula but also largely in control of the outcomes.

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiated peace in the Russo-Japanese war that lasted from 1904-1905. Ironically, the peace settlement during the 1905 Korea-Japan Convention included making Korea a protectorate of Japan. The full annexation of Korea to the Empire of Japan was finalized on August 29, 1910. The subsequent Japanese colonization was a dark and gruesome time for the Korean nation. Koreans were severely mistreated, forbidden to speak the Korean language, and were forced to either worship Japanese Shinto shrines or face imprisonment.

Treaty of Portsmouth ended the Russo-Japanese War

It was not until August 15, 1945, at the end of World War II that Korea was liberated from Japan. As allies in WWII, the Soviet Union and the United States had already determined how to ensure Korean’s liberation from the Japanese. It was decided that the Soviet Union would enter the peninsula from the north while the U.S. entered from the south. The two met in the middle at the 38th Parallel. But instead of allowing Korea to become its own liberated nation, with the onset of the Cold War Era just beginning, Korea was divided into two nations. In the North, a communist government was established while in the South, the United States helped establish a democracy. This division occurred without the consent or intent of the Korean people.

War, as a result, was inevitable. Korea desired a unified nation, but due to the establishment of two stark, contrasting governments, conflict was unavoidable. On June 25, 1950, the North invaded the South. And although the Korean War today is known as the “Forgotten War” in America, it very real in the hearts and minds of Koreans. At the end of the war, more than 3 million Koreans had died, and 10 million families were divided. Resulting in 43% of the population at the time being directly affected by the war through either through death or separation. Through the United Nations’ involvement, the United States Air Force used 386,037 tons of bombs, 32,357 tons of napalm, 313,600 rockets, and 167 million machine-gun rounds against the North in a short three-year period. North Korea was flattened through these air strikes, and both the North and the South at the end of the war were left in ruins.

Although fighting ended with the signing of the Armistice Agreement on July 27, 1953, a peace agreement to officially end the Korean War was never signed. Therefore, in the minds of North Koreans, they are still at war. In fact, the Korean War has been the longest unresolved conflict in American history, now lasting more than 70 years.

Truce Signed on July 27, 1953 but the Korean War Never Ended

Since my husband and I have worked and lived in North Korea as humanitarian workers for over a decade, we are beginning to discover what makes North Koreans tic. We have first-hand experience of what their lives are like. And through deepening relationships with local people, we have begun to understand what North Koreans are thinking and feeling and why.

Living in North Korea is unlike any other nation on earth. Standards of living may be similar to other third-world countries, but North Koreans live by a different set of rules compared to the rest of the world. They have a completely different value system with unique end-of-game objectives. If a person does not understand where a North Korean is coming from, it is almost impossible to obtain positive outcomes from any talks or negotiations. 

North Koreans live as if they are in a war zone. The Korean War was extremely personal to them. They literally saw their mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers, brothers and sisters killed. Stories of trauma from the Korean War has been passed down from one generation to the next. And every person in the nation was elicited to rebuild their country from the ground up.

Media highlights negative aspects about North Korea, but it would be inaccurate to leave it there. These descriptions of North Korea are not untrue, but they are also not the full picture. It is like describing the United States as a country rampant with gang warfare, homeless drug addicts, and violent schools. These facts are all true, but there is also a vast treasure cove of beauty waiting to be explored. 

Instead, we need to begin viewing North Koreans through a human perspective rather than through a political one. The fact is that they are people, just like you and me. All they really want is to defend their country and bring about healing for their nation, that is to stop the cycle of violence and trauma. They want an end to the Korean War.

Ironically, apart from the United States, a peace treaty ending the Korean War cannot be signed. Once again, Korea’s fate is in the hands of America.

Broken trust and disappointment between countries is obstructing the United States from declaring an end to the Korean War. However, without this crucial step, there is little hope for a peaceful future.

Koreans are worth getting to know better. North Koreans are a tough people who resist the attempts of powerful world-leaders to dominate their country. But even though they can come across as threatening and firm, they respond well to the hand of friendship. Those who persist to get to know them will discover a remarkable nation full of people who have unlimited potential.

March 18, 2021

Filipino Doctors Arrive in Pyongyang

Singing MOU between Philippine National Medical School & Pyongyang Medical University.

Last Wednesday, September 18, 2019, Dr. Marie (former chairman of Philippine Pediatric Behavioral and Developmental Disability Association) and two other Filipino doctors arrived in Pyongyang, DPRK for a series of lectures and training in Developmental and Behavioral Disabilities.

Dr. Marie is providing expert training in screening and treatment for children with developmental disabilities such as autism, cerebral palsy, and ADHD. The other two doctors include an Orthopedic Surgeon and a Pediatrician. Both will add to Dr. Marie’s training by providing a multi-disciplinary and holistic approach to treating pediatric patients and providing medical care for children with developmental disabilities.

This initiative started about four years ago when IGNIS Community took a delegation of four North Korean doctors to Manila, Philippines. It was the first exposure to a multi-disciplinary approach to treating children with developmental disabilities for the North Korean doctors. The medical system in Manila gave us a glimpse of what it could look like if North Korean children received early intervention and screening for developmental disabilities, were referred to appropriate specialists, were treated with timely medical care, and received social services to help them integrate into society.

But most importantly, an MOU was signed between the Pyongyang Medical School and the Philippine National Medical School of Manila at this trip. This opened up the opportunity for North Korean doctors to come to the Philippines for further study and professional development in Pediatric specialties, Rehabilitation Medicine, and even Prosthetics and Orthotics.

This partnership has led to this day, when three Filipino doctors are able to visit Pyongyang and provide life-saving medical training for North Korean doctors. This training could potentially save the lives of thousands of children with cerebral palsy, autism, and other developmental disabilities in the DPRK - transforming communities for a better place.

IGNIS received UN Sanctions Exemption!

With respect to the UN sanctions, we submitted an application to the UN Sanctions Exemption Committee for an exemption to ship medical equipment and other related items for the Pyongyang Spine Rehabilitation Center (PYSRC) into North Korea. This application to ship medical equipment has been granted on September 5th 2019.

IGNIS Community have actively pursued interpretive guidance and counsel to adhere to the U.S. government as well as International laws and regulations. See our compliance page to learn more how IGNIS best effort to be transparent in all of our activities.