Unsung Superheroes: The Origin Stories of Our Spring Interns
With a lot of big things happening at LiNK, we’re excited to see how quickly our spring interns have adjusted to their roles. It’s been great getting to know these interesting individuals and we want to share their stories with you.
Ki-Hong: Finance & Accounting Intern
His LiNK story
Growing up in South Korea, Ki-Hong heard about North Korea whether he wanted to or not. While in military training, he wondered why the two Koreas were fighting their own people. Coming back to school and wanting to spread awareness, he met the LiNK nomads and was encouraged to apply. This is Ki-Hong’s third term at LiNK.
Most exciting part of his internship
Ki-Hong is most excited to learn about new things as he’s been taking on new positions to develop new skills.
Ki-Hong’s favorite attribute about himself
Ki-Hong likes his ability to find small details other wouldn’t notice. He’d catch details people wouldn’t notice even from their favorite movies that they’ve watched many times before. And when people ask him where he would like to travel, Ki-Hong will pick an unspecific island, or just Fiji, in the Pacific because it’s so small but exists.
Maddie: Donor Impact Intern
Her LiNK story
In her freshman year of high school, Madison acquired a love for k-pop and k-dramas. Later, a pen pal introduced her to LiNK and urged her to watch “Danny from North Korea”. Madison realizes that despite loving South Korean culture, she knew nothing about North Korea. She became an online supporter until spring 2015 when she met nomads at Washington University in St. Louis and applied to be a nomad. This is Madison’s second term at LiNK.
Most exciting part of her internship
As a nomad, Madison missed the atmosphere at HQ and wanted to get familiar with the more technical aspects of LiNK. She enjoys being able to write little notes to everyone; one of the things LiNK always did that impacted and stayed with her.
Madison’s favorite movie quote
In “Roman Holiday”, when Princess Ann was asked about the outlook for friendship among nations, she replies with: “I have every faith in it…as I have faith in relations between people.” Seemingly innocuous, to Maddie it was profound in context of the film and moment.
Sandy: Social Media Intern
Her LiNK story
Sandy saw the Heartland Nomads back in 2013 and was struck by how innovative and visually appealing the presentation was and how approachable the Nomads were. She borrowed a friend’s LiNK shirt and found that someone else, equally moved by the presentation, had applied for a Rescue Team on her campus before she did. When the Heartland nomads passed away, she decided to take on her quarter-life crisis a little early and applied with no regrets.
Most exciting part of her internship
There’s always something to be excited about. Right now, Sandy’s most excited about the donuts gifted to HQ by two former interns.
Fun fact about Sandy
Sandy loves love. The stories; the way they manifest in surprising and unsurprising ways. Sandy particularly “loves to love; vicariously”. When she goes people-watching, she looks for moments of great parenting, private moments in public surroundings, or strangers doing more than greeting. She likes the heartrending aspects of love, too, and will purposely read or watch things that are heartbreaking because they are so bittersweet.
Jane: Videographer Intern
Her LiNK story
As a Korean-American, Jane’s familiar with the issue and has always had a heart for those who have been separated. Jane was sucked in by how aesthetically engaging her first nomad presentation was and saw the similarities of goals. With dreams of creating animations that impact, bring joy, and wrap a person up in the story, Jane took the plunge to join LiNK to nurture her dream and the empowerment of the North Korean people.
Most exciting part of her internship
Jane is excited to be able to do editing work different from animation and learning techniques for live-action filming as she’s also doing work to convey the vision of hope for people from a country without such communication.
A character that Jane identifies with
Growing up, Jane always loved Chibi Moon from Sailor Moon. Jane loves her pink hair and that, despite how sheltered and scrawny she is, she constantly worked to be independent and stronger.
Jenny: Graphic Design Intern
Her LiNK story
Jenny’s interest in the issue piqued after she found a reunification flag with a striking design. Ever the artistic type, this discovery prompted her to learn more about the North Korean people and their challenges. Jenny joined LiNK to continue down her path of learning and find ways to use design to bring forth positive change.
Most exciting part of her internship
She loves being around like-minded people who care and are a part of LiNK’s mission.
A significant mentor in Jenny’s life
Her parents wanted more for her, but Jenny wanted to be creative so she went to community college to take a few art classes. There, she studied under Mitchell Syrop, a conceptual artist, who saw her potential and encouraged her to go to grad school. Without him, she wouldn’t be here and she has always been grateful for that.
Sung-Hyun: Graphic Design Intern
His LiNK story
Sung-hyun has been following LiNK’s work for years, but was never able to get involved. He recently rediscovered our work and decided it was his time to take action. He quickly created a portfolio with only three days left to apply. Sung-Hyun wants to use his artistic abilities to help connect the world to the North Korean people.
Most exciting part of his internship
He’s inspired that people from so many different places, backgrounds, and interests can collaborate to work on something that he had previously thought only Koreans care about.
Someone that inspires Sung-Hyun
Though a bit shy to admit it, Sung-hyun has a man-crush on Jesse Moynihan, a storyboard creator for “Adventure Time”. He likes that Jesse tackles deep philosophical ideas and big emotions and channels them into a children’s show in an accessible way. Sung-Hyun mentions that he identifies with the Lemon People (created by Jesse) from the series and how they learn empathy and self-acceptance.
Lilly: Resettlement & Translation Intern
Her LiNK story
Lilly first learned about LiNK from the Southeast Nomads back in high school where her interest grew. Before joining LiNK, she did internships translating Korean and German, and even went to Germany for an internship. She has a strong belief in LiNK’s work and is looking forward to making an impact in the world through her internship.
Most exciting part of her internship
Lilly is excited to provide direct assistance through English tutoring for North Korean students.
Lilly’s favorite pun
She has two:
Photo credits (top) Landysh of Lingvistov; (bottom) “Periodically Funny” by Michael Holmes of Wearviral.
Yeneca: Resettlement & Translation Intern
Her LiNK story
As a child who didn’t eat much, Yeneca’s parents would tell her children are starving in North Korea. And while living with her grandmother, she often heard about her grandmother’s childhood during the separation of the two Koreas. She first got interested in LiNK’s work in 2012 during the SHIFT campaign and later joined her campus’ Rescue Team.
Most exciting part of her internship
Yeneca has always been interested in the resettlement process because it gets the least attention of all the challenges faced by North Koreans. She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge on the subject and the ways to better assist North Koreans as they transition to new societies.
What Yeneca misses about her childhood
There was a brief idyllic two-year period that Yeneca experienced growing up in South Korea. She lived in a suburb at the foot of a mountain and spent much of her time picking berries by the stream and remembers the smell of wood and dirt. Yeneca also misses the lack of responsibilities and wishes she had been more of a troublemaker back then.
Ed: Rescue Teams Intern
His LiNK story
Ed was a senior studying international relations and North Korea’s unique situation piqued his interest. After finding out about LiNK, he became both a Rescue Team intern and Nomad. Ed is returning for his second term as a Rescue Teams intern.
Most exciting part of his internship
For Ed, he’s excited about being a part of a really interesting organization that deals with an international issue and, being young, getting to experience a variety of things and traveling.
Ed’s good moment with a stranger
While Ed was traveling India alone, he met a man on a long train ride to the east coast of India. Their conversation was non-stop and led to a dinner and an offer to stay at the man’s friend’s home. Despite having to decline because of his tight travel schedule, the two remain good friends to this day.
Marissa: Rescue Teams Intern
Her LiNK story
Marissa heard about North Korea after watching an interview with Shin Dong Hyuk that shook her to her core. She knew she had to get involved and found LiNK. She connected with the Great Plains Nomads and was encouraged to apply for an internship. This is her second term as a Rescue Teams intern.
Most exciting part of her internship
Marissa’s excited to see that the present class of interns already shows great chemistry as a group. She is also excited to visit local teams and table with them.
How Marissa met her best friend
Marissa met Lindsey at a friend’s graduation party. They clicked but thought it was a one-time encounter. However, on the first day of English composition class, Marissa found Lindsey sitting next to her! The semester went on amazingly for the two and they were inseparable. It was through this friendship that Marissa was able to find herself, gained the ability to stand up to a toxic friendship, and learned what true friendship is.
Parker: Rescue Teams Intern
His LiNK story
Having always been interested in global issues, Parker went to a LiNK presentation and it stuck with him. He graduated and went to teach English in Spain before coming back and applying to LiNK.
Most exciting part of his internship
Parker’s most excited to meet interns and staff from around the world and learning in-depth research and strategy about North Korea.
Something someone said that changed Parker’s mindset
A time fresh in his mind was when he volunteered as a global health worker in Peru and received an award for his successful efforts and leadership. Two med students recognized his talent with patients and gave Parker the mentorship and encouragement to start his path into global medicine.
Sareena: Rescue Teams Intern
Her LiNK story
While teaching English in South Korea, she volunteered with North Korean children where she was exposed to the human side, rather than the politics, of North Korea. After reading “Escape from Camp 14”, she looked into LiNK and started a Rescue Team in her city. She realized that she can focus on building and strengthening Rescue Teams better as an intern with the resources and training provided.
Most exciting part of her internship
Working in a team of passionate people and growing the organization and the teams. Sareena plans on continuing her involvement with Rescue Teams in South Korea and growing international Rescue Teams.
Sareena hates hearing people say
“Find a real job.” Because it is often said to travelers, like herself, who explore their interests and do not conform to the usual idea of a functioning adult. However, Sareena sees that the world gets more connected every day and traveling allows her to connect, grow, and learn by doing things she doesn’t yet know. She gets to do and see things most people can’t do in their lifetime and gain international friends all over.
We’re currently hiring interns for the summer!
