2023 Student-Faculty Fellows: Skidmore College

Remittances to North Korea and Transborder Kinship

Mentor: Joowon Park, Anthropology

Students: Tucker Obering, Maddie Gunnell,, Joey Geary, and Hannah Liscord

Project Abstract Prior to embarking on the summer trip, the student fellows had studied about the Korean division, militarization on the peninsula, and the plight of North Korean refugees. Through both pre-trip activities and on-site learnings, the students were able to gain hands-on knowledge about national division, the challenges of North Koreans resettling to South Korea, and the continuing efforts of North Korean refugees to reconnect with loved ones back in their home country. Although they were able to understand the project and its goals centered on North Korean refugees’ transborder relationships, there were at times when as the faculty mentor I had to help bring the student fellows back to the central concerns of the project. This was difficult because the students had so many tangential interests that would spring up in relation to the project. This could be seen as a drawback, but I was equally impressed by their passion and curiosity into North and South Korean affairs such as the relations between culture and food, North Koreans’ interests in sports, intimacy, and North Korean fashion. Despite not being able to speak the Korean language, our student fellows did a remarkable job learning to communicate in a variety of ways. Sometimes, they relied on the live interpretation apps that enabled translation of more difficult words and phrases. Other times, they communicated using non-verbal methods via touch, eye-contact, body language, and emotion. Because many of our North Korean interlocutors understood English on a limited basis, some more fluent than others, the student fellows developed strong relations with some of the interlocutors. It also helped that many of our North Korean interlocutors were mostly in their 20s and 30s, and so the similarities in ages helped to facilitate their friendships. Through direct engagement with our interlocutors, the student fellows learned about (1) North Korean refugees’ lives back in North Korea; (2) their everyday lives in North Korea including topics such as their favorite foods, fashion, entertainment, and schooling; (3) migratory journey; and (4) their experiences of South Korea.

Tucker Obering 
Getting to conduct research in Korea with Professor Park has proved to be an invaluable experience that will allow me to delve deeper into the field of anthropology. In terms of practical skills, this was the first time I was able to conduct ethnographic research in person. As a staple in anthropology, I now feel more confident in my ability to produce work based on my research. More specifically, as part of the ethnographic research, I feel confident in my abilities to perform participant-observation. Included with this, I was tasked with keeping up-to-date fieldnotes that can be used as data. Previously at Skidmore I was taught archaeological fieldnotes. While archaeological and ethnographic fieldnotes share some basic ethical implications with each other, I was able to practice how to take notes based on interviews and interactions with people and not solely based on material findings as in the case with archaeology.

Maddie Gunnell 
While conducting fieldwork in Korea, we learned many skills that are applicable to our professional futures. Through following Professor Park, we learned how to carry ourselves in a professional environment, especially when visiting offices or attending important events. We were exposed to what it would be like to work in human rights research through our visit to the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights. Additionally, we learned how to prepare for meetings and how to treat people that you are working with depending on the culture; for example, Professor Park always brought a gift to the people that were giving us their time. We also watched how Professor Park built and sustained relationships with interlocutors, in addition to getting hands-on experience with fieldwork and taking fieldnotes. We were also able to practice participant-observation, especially when we visited the North Korean church, because we were able to participate in the church services, lunches, and activities while building relationships with our interlocutors. Additionally, we learned skills to communicate with people who spoke little English or not English at all. Sometimes we used live interpretation apps on our phones, but also learned to be patient and developed non-verbal ways of communicating.

Joey Geary 
This experience will help me professionally because I’ve gained experience navigating professional environments, like the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and the non-governmental organization called the Database Center for North Korean Human rights. I’ve also grown personally in terms of solidifying my professional interests beyond college. We visited members who were involved in North Korean affairs at the embassy, as one of the members was involved in organizing a meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un. I am definitely interested in foreign service and I also aspire to study law someday, so these experiences were extremely valuable and will help carry myself accordingly in my professional life. This will also be a part of my academic interests this school year.

Hannah Liscord 
The activities we engaged in also helped us prepare for potential careers. One on-site activity was a meeting Professor Park arranged with North Korean affairs officers at the United States Embassy in Seoul. There we met with a few different American foreign service workers stationed who spoke about their experience working on North Korean issues, the process of applying to work for the foreign service, and the multitude of jobs available across the governmental branches. We also visited an alternative school for resettled North Koreans where we were encouraged to consider teaching English after our college graduation. This experience would also help in applying to grad school and in potential thesis projects I could develop while working on my masters. Since international affairs is an area that I am interested in working in, having these kinds of job opportunities is extremely important as I begin to look at my life beyond graduation.