Human Rights Day & Next Meeting

Happy Human Rights Day!

December 10th is International Human Rights Day, to commemorate the signing

of the 1948 adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights. Read the Universal Declaration here:

(English) (Korean) (Mandarin Chinese) (Japanese)

This year's Human Rights Day's theme is human rights defenders who act to end

discrimination. Learn more about today's worldwide events and celebrations from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights here.

Today is also the day the Nobel Peace Prize is to be awarded in Oslo to Chinese activist

and writer Liu Xiaobo, now in prison in China. 19 countries are not attending this

year's ceremony, possibly because of Chinese threats of "consequences" if diplomats

attend the ceremony. Read more here:

We'd also like to invite you to the next Busan Human Rights meeting. We'll be

getting together Saturday, Dec. 18th, from 12-2pm at the Coffee Bean in Seomyeon

(by Judies Taehwa). It'll be an open discussion for people to ask questions about

human rights and share their opinions. Everyone is welcome.

Here are directions to the meeting place:

Where: Seomyeon Coffee Bean, by the Judies Taehwa store(and next to Holly's). Exit Seomyeon station #2 and walk for about 2 minutes. It's also the Seomyeon stop for buses 83-1 (Millak), 86, 103 (Busan station), and 133 (Deokcheon). More buses stop just down the street. By taxi, ask for Seomyeon, Judies Taehwa, and walk towards Seomyeon station.

When: Saturday, Dec. 18th, 12-2pm.

Contact info: Will: faraji85@hanmail.net (010-7629-7479).

Busan Human Rights meeting - Seomyeon Nov. 27th

Do you care about stuff? People all over the world are working every day to improve people's living conditions. If you'd like to learn more about all the great things that are being done to protect people's rights, ask questions and share your opinions, we'd love to talk with you. We're a local group of people who like learning about solutions to some of the world's problems, and meeting other people who care about the world, too. We're all busy, the same as you, so if you have time for a coffee and conversation, that's all the time we ask. We meet one Saturday a month for 2 hours. We'd love to see you there. No need to RSVP, just stop by if you have time. Here are the details:

Where: Seomyeon Coffee Bean, by the Judies Taehwa store(and next to Holly's). Exit Seomyeon station #2 and walk for about 2 minutes. It's also the Seomyeon stop for buses 83-1 (Millak), 86, 103 (Busan station), and 133 (Deokcheon). More buses stop just down the street. By taxi, ask for Seomyeon, Judies Taehwa, and walk towards Seomyeon station.

When: Saturday, Nov. 27th, 12-2 pm.

Do I need to bring anything? Nope.

Contact info: Will: faraji85@hanmail.net (010-7629-7479).

Busan Human Rights Get-Together: Share Your Ideas!

Are you tired of the bar scene? Do you want to meet other people

who are interested in helping people, and talking about topics of

real impact? Then you're exactly who we're looking for.

I'd like to invite you to a meet-up in Seomyeon on Saturday, October 23rd.

This isn't a formal group meeting, but a chance to get together and talk about

what you're interested in, what you'd like to know more about, and how

you'd like our meetings to go. We want our meetings to be fun, interactive,

and inspiring. The only thing we're assuming is that you're interested in

talking about social and political problems, here in Korea and worldwide,

and that you're concerned about other people's freedom to live decent lives.

That's it, no further expertise required.

If you've got some time on the 23rd to stop by for a coffee, we'd love to see

you. The meet-up will go from 12:00-2 pm. If you've got a few minutes then,

please drop by and say hi.

Contact: Will - champollion22@gmail.com

Here are the details:

When: Saturday, October 23, 12:00-2:00 pm

Where: Seomyeon, at the Coffee Bean coffee shop by Judies Taehwa and Dong-Bo bookshop.

Directions: By subway, the easiest way is to take exit 2 from Seomyeon station.

This is where the subway station ends and the underground shopping center

starts. At the top of the stairs you'll see a Woori Bank on your left and a Tous Les Jours

bakery. Walk straight (south), past the bakery and past Dong-Bo books (동보서적) and you'll

see the Coffee Bean on your left, next to Holly's. If you come to Judies Taehwa on the

corner, that's too far. It's only 1 or 2 minutes from Seomyeon station.

By Bus: There's a bus stop in front of the coffee shop for buses 83-1 (from Millak),

86, 103 (from Busan station), and 133 (from Deokcheon = 덕천). The bus stop is

called Seomyeon (서면) for all the bus lines. Other buses have a stop near Judies Taehwa

very near the coffee shop.

By Taxi: Ask for Seomyeon, Judies Taehwa (서면, 쥬디스 태화). Get out at Judies

Taehwa and head toward Seomyeon station. The coffee shop is just ahead of you on

the right.

*note- Seomyeon station exit 2 is labeled with a small #2 at the bottom of the stairs,

but is labeled Daehyun Primall gate 7 at the top of the stairs. It's the same exit.

May 16th - Dongria Kondh Presentation

This month's meeting will be at Busan Racetrack. We will meet at 11:30 a.m at Hadan subway station Exit 6 and will take a bus from there.

Thomas will be presenting some information about the Dongria Kondh Indian tribe. Below is a 11 minute video to help familiarize yourself about this potentially displaced community.



As well, if you are interested in placing bets at the track, please make sure you bring money and ID.

Finally, I believe there will be a lantern parade for Buddha's birthday happening later that evening. All are welcome to join me later (Jason)!

race-track and somthing meaningful?

Hi, guys~~.

We are going to have May meeting at Busan racetrack park on 16th!

Of course, we will have a chance to bet on thrilling-races.

You may make a fortune!

And we want to do something meaningful for human rights during the happy experience.

So we need your idea about our activities on the day.

What could be Good?

Please, post your idea!

Nepal New Year Festival

Thanks to the kind invitation of our friend and BHR member Ujwal (John) Adhikari, BHR members attended the Nepali New Year's celebration, held by the National Coordination Council, a Nepali organization in Korea, on April 18th. The organization hosted a gathering of around 100 people and featured traditional Nepalese singing, dancing, and of course, a delicious dinner for all. BHR members were welcomed warmly and we all had a good time. Thanks to Ujwal and the NCC!

Good Looking People

General Meeting Minutes (March 2010)

General Meeting MinutesBusan Human Rights
(General Meeting Minutes: March 27, 2010)(17:00, Tenz, Norazo Design Academy Building)
Participants:

• Duncan, Hyun-Ju, Jason L., Jason M., John, Jung-Ju, Maiko, Marc-Andre, Michael, Michelle, Taniya, Thomas, Tom, Will

Proceedings:

• Meeting called to order at 17:30 by Will
• Introductions led by Will
• Presentation on vegetarianism led by Marc-Andre (more info www.goveg.com / www.peta.org / Video)
• Petition letters signed for Johan Teterissa (Indonesia) (more info Korean / English / Video); Heshmatollah Tabarzadi (Iran); Obtilia Eugenio Manue (Mexico); Deogratias Mushayidi (Rwanda); Mohammad Javad Larijani (Iraq); Abed al-Hafith (Kurdistan).
• Presentation on world hunger led by Will (more info www.wfp.org / www.freeflour.com)
• Meeting adjourned at 20:00

Next meeting will be held on April 24, 2010 (more details to follow).

Minutes submitted by Marc-Andre P.

Please report any typos, misspelt or erroneous information as well as omissions to Marc-Andre P. (marcandrepaquin (at) gmail (dot) com)

Sex Workers in Busan?

I'm currently talking to Amy, who's interested in organizing/helping sex workers in Busan. She has a few questions:

Are there sex workers in Busan?
What's the situation?
Are there any humanitarian groups related to sex workers?

Does anybody have any more information about this? Websites, phone numbers, gossip?

She writes "I was hoping to find something like that in Busan, I've read that their red-light district is a big source/destination for trafficked women and thought that I might be able to find a place to volunteer. Do you happen to know of any? If not, what do you think the possibility of starting something up within your group would be? Even if it's just teaching English/job skills to underprivileged girls so they don't wind up in an abusive situation."

Please help out! Leave a comment below.

Korea's Overseas Volunteer Corps 3rd Largest in World

Korea's corps of overseas volunteers is the third largest in the world, statistics revealed on Sunday. According to the statistics by the state-run Korea International Cooperation Agency, Korea sends 1,000 new volunteers to 43 countries every year, third only to the Peace Corps of the U.S. (3,801 volunteers to 72 countries) and the Japan's Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (2,000 volunteers).

Even when considering the total number of volunteers at work, as volunteers usually have a two-year contract with the KOICA, Korea still ranks third with 1,538 volunteers in 43 countries. The U.S. has 8,079 volunteers in 74 countries, and Japan has 3,147 in 77 countries. Germany is in fourth place with 970 volunteers in 42 countries.

Full Chosun Ilbo article:
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/22/2010032200764.html

KOICA's website:
http://www.koica.go.kr/english/main.html

Over Half of Young People Ignorant About Korean War

More than half of South Korea's young people know little or nothing about the defining moment in their country's history, a fresh survey confirms. In a Gallup poll of 1,703 people nationwide over 13 for the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, only 60.9 percent of respondents correctly answered that it broke out in 1950, but 39.1 percent did not know when it broke out or gave a wrong answer.

Among teenagers, 62.9 percent did not know when the war started, and among those in their 20s the figure was 58.2 percent.

Full Chosun Ilbo article:
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/25/2010032500349.html

Google Closes Censored Search Engine in China

Google has made good on its threat to close google.cn, the search site it

was running in China. The site's search results were censored, with searches

for terms like 'human rights' and 'Tienanmen Square Massacre' coming up empty.

The site had also been attacked multiple times by hackers, with human rights

activists' private Gmail accounts broken into by hackers within China. The Chinese

government has denied responsibility for the attacks. Google's chief legal officer says

"it seems that things are getting tighter for open expression and freedom."

Read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/technology/23google.html?pagewanted=1&hp

March Monthly Meeting on Saturday 27, 5pm

We meet monthly to share information on important human rights situations around the world and to write letters to important officials. (It works, trust us). We also discuss other ways of getting involved, working with local groups to improve human rights situations wherever we can. The topics are serious but the atmosphere is casual.

Our members will be leading this month's presentation about the interconnected relationships among vegetarianism, animals, environment, world hunger and worker's rights. Of course, we'll have a time writing letters for conscientious prisoners in the world.

If you are interested in alternative ideas, or human rights, don't hesitate to join us. We always welcome new comers. Feel free and bring a friend!
We hope you can have a happy and meaningful time.


Meeting place: 5 pm, Saturday 27th, Tenz at Norazo design Academy building at Seomyeon (Please, get out of Exit 2 of the subway station)
Agenda: Presentation" & writing letters
Cost: 6000 won (3000 place rent, 3000 Postage)
Bring: a pen for writing letters, snacks to share
Contact: Jason (English) 010-75953343, jasoninglee@yahoo.com/ Thomas Moon
(Korean) 010-8008-0928 (text msg only), monkton@naver.com

WWF Earth Hour

The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) is hosting Earth hour, which asks people to turn off all of their electrical lights at the same time around the world.

The time for this is at March, Saturday 27 @ 8:30pm.

For more information: http://www.earthhourkorea.org/

Would this conflict with our meeting/dinner schedule?

General Meeting Minutes (February 2010)

General Meeting MinutesBusan Human Rights
(General Meeting Minutes: February 27, 2010)
(17:00, Norazo Design Academy)

Participants:

• Austin, Cheryl, Hui-jin, Hyun-ju, In-seong, Jason L., Jason M., Jin-o, Marc-Andre, Sukyeong, Taniya, Thomas, Tom, Will, Zeb

Proceedings:

• Meeting called to order at 17:30 by Thomas
• Introductions / Icebreaking activity led by Thomas
• Petition letters signed for Ingrid Vergara (Colombia); Zhao Lianhai (China); Usra al-Hassani (Syria); Kurdish political activists (Syria); leaders of the Resistance Front for the Defense of Natural Resources and People's Right, aka, FRENA (Guatemala)
• Film presentation: 'Taebaek Mountains'
• Meeting adjourned at 20:00

Next meeting will be held on March 27, 2010 (more details to follow).

Minutes submitted by Marc-Andre P.

Please report any typos, misspelt or erroneous information as well as omissions to Marc-Andre P. (marcandrepaquin (at) gmail (dot) com)

Bring your creative idea!

"Let's share your valuable knowlodge together!"

From this month, we will have a nice time to share each member's experience, knowlodge, information and idea with other members in turns at our monthly meeting. The Project means various programs to share your valuable knowlodge together. From interesting games, stories, films, lifestyle to enviromental issues, global issues and so on, whatever you want to share! Of course, if it is related with Human rights or peace, it would probably be nice, but you don't need to limit your subject to those categories. The project could take 20minutes to 1hour, but if you'd like to prepare something like a film, it could take much longer time. Please, give us a fun with your creative idea.
This time is my turn with the film. ^^ Pleas Bring your creative idea for the next meetings!

February Monthly Meeting - 5 pm, Saturday 27th

We meet monthly to share information on important human rights situations around the world and to write letters to important officials. (It works, trust us). We also discuss other ways of getting involved, working with local groups to improve human rights situations wherever we can. The topics are serious but the atmosphere is casual.

This time we will watch a classic film which could explains conflicts between leftists and rightists after independence from Japan. The history still has a legacy in present conflict structures of Korean politics. Of course, we'll have a time writing letters for conscientious prisoners in the world. 

If you are interested in Korean culture history, or human rights, don't hesitate to join us. We always welcome new comers. Feel free and bring a friend!

We hope you can have a happy and meaningful time.

Meeting place: 5 pm, Saturday 27th, Tenz at Norazo design Academy building at Seomyeon (Please, get out of Exit 2 of the subway station)

Agenda: Watching a film "Taebaek Mountains" & writing letters

Cost: 6000 won (3000 place rent, 3000 Postage)

Bring: a pen for writing letters, snacks to share

Contact: Jason (English) 010-75953343, jasoninglee@yahoo.com/ Thomas Moon

(Korean) 010-8008-0928 (text msg only), monkton@naver.com

Human Rights Posters

Summary of the January Meeting

Armed with sunshine, crisp air, copious amounts of treats, and, of course, pens, we were ready for our adventures. The day began at Tongdo Fantasia with some sledding; and, although there were many collisions on the artificial-snow covered hill, I'm pleased to say that we all came out unscathed.

Next on our agenda was a visit to Tongdosa, one of the Three Jewel Temples of Korea. In addition to an insightful briefing on the temple's history by Will, we also had the good fortune of having two very kind hosts accompany us. Among the many highlights of our visit at Tongdo Temple was the ringing of the evening bell, the buddhist evening chants, and enjoying an energizing dinner provided by the temple's courteous staff.

While this did not leave a lot of time for writing, we still managed to send out four letters thanks to Thomas' forethought and planning.

Our next meeting will be February 27th - more details to come.

Will's debut!!! congratulations!!!

full time student!

hey, guys~
I quitted my part time job today~!
from now, i'm full-time student! :-) in another word, i'm a white-hand(백수,a jobless person). But I'm ready to rush toward June's battle!!!

부산인권그룹 신년 모임안내 + 눈썰매 + 통도사 산책

안녕하세요. ^^ 부산인권그룹(BHRG)이 지난 12월 크리스마스 송년모임을 조촐하게 치루고, 다시 2010년 새해 첫 모임을 가집니다. 지난 모임에서는 뉴커머 수경님을 비롯 4인이 모였고, 토마스의 호주산 와인, 윌의 빅~! 크리스마스쿠키, 인성의 꿀맛 같은 반시로 맘껏 크리스마스 분위기를 낼 수 있었습니다. 너무 맛있게 잘 먹어서 못 오신 분들한테 미안할 정도였다는... ^^ ㅋㅎㅋㅎ

이번 신년모임에선 참가자들과 눈썰매 타러 갑니다. 통도 환타지아에서 초딩들과 신나게 눈썰매 타고, 3대 사찰 중 하나인 통도사의 고즈넉한 분위기도 느끼고. 좋죠? 안오시면 후회할 듯~. ㅋㅎㅋㅎ 물론 식사시간과 휴식시간에 전세계 양심수와 인도네시아 테테레사님을 위한 편지쓰기도 진행됩니다. 한국인 외국인 모두 편하고, 즐겁게 어울릴 수 있는 신년 첫모임이니 관심 있으신 분들이나 하루정도 함께 즐겁게 놀고 이야기 나누고 싶으신 분들 모두 환영합니다.

만날 장소: 23일(토) 12시 노포동 버스 터미널
프로 그램: 눈썰매타기, 통도사 산책, 편지쓰기, 올해 계획 준비하기
비 용: 2만원(눈썰매11000+통도사2000+버스4000+우편료3000)
준 비 물: 볼펜, 도시락이나 간식(나눠 먹게 많이 준비해주시면 좋아요.)
문 의: 토마스 010-8008-0928(문자로 주시면 감사) / monkton@naver.com

그럼 많이들 참가해 주시고, 함께 즐거운 시간 가져봅시당!
모두들 2010년 화이팅!

Google Threatens to Stop Operating in China

Google has threatened to stop operating their search engine in China,
citing cyber attacks on private email accounts of Chinese human rights
activists, and the Chinese government's mandate that they censor
information on certain topics. These censored topics, which result
in a search coming up with no results, include the Dalai Lama and the
Tienanmen Square massacre. See the New York Times article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/world/asia/13beijing.html?ref=global-home

January meeting (winter sledding and Tongdo temple)

We meet monthly to share information on important human rights situations around the world and to write letters to important officials.  (It works, trust us). We also discuss other ways of getting involved, working with local groups to improve human rights situations wherever we can.  The topics are serious but the atmosphere is casual.  This time we will have winter sledding and visiting a temple events.  Feel free and bring a friend!

Meeting spot: 12 pm, Saturday 23rd, Nopodong bus terminal

Agenda: Sledding at Tongdo Fantasia, visiting Tongdo-sa, writing letters, discussing this year's plan

Cost: 20000 won
               (11000 sledding + 2000 temple entrance + 4000 bus fare + 3000 postage)

Bring: a pen for writing letters, lunch or snacks to share

Contact: Will (English)010-7629-7479, faraji85@hanmail.net

                    Thomas Moon (Korean) 010-8008-0928 (text msg only), monkton@naver.com

More information for Tond-do temple can be found at: http://www.tongdosa.or.kr/english/tongdotemple/history.asp