North Korea Healthcare Support Academy for the 2021 Special Period for Peace in the West Sea held on October 8

Story of health and medical care in North Korea told by a North Korean defector pharmacist
“South Korea life expectancy of 80 versus North Korea life expectancy of 70”

The first session’s topic was the “Current state and challenges of healthcare in North Korea.” Professor Shin Young-jeon of Hanyang University College of Medicine and Uhm Ju-hyeon, Secretary-General of Medical Aid for Children, moderated the discussion. In addition, Lee Ha-na, chairperson of the Unification Pharmaceutical Care Committee of the Gyeonggido Pharmaceutical Association and a North Korean defector pharmacist, explained the health and medical system of North Korea, and Professor Lee Soo-kyung of the Inha University Department of Food and Nutrition presented the theme of "Nutrition of North Koreans and preparation for the nutritious and healthy community on the Korean Peninsula."
“The average life expectancy of South Koreans is 80 years while that of North Koreans is 70 years. This shows the current state of medical care in North Korea. The fact is that all kinds of infectious diseases have been prevalent in North Korea since the 1990s,” Lee Ha-na said. “I read a report on the current state of medical care in North Korea that was submitted to the UN. I noticed that the death rate has decreased and felt mixed emotion as I could imagine the efforts of local healthcare workers under the difficult situation.”
Lee Soo-kyung talked about the nutritional status of North Koreans. “For a child, we can identify children with acute nutritional imbalance according to standard indicators by just checking their weight and height and providing standardized treatment right away. We should train North Korean healthcare workers to learn standardized treatment methods and provide necessary supplies,” said Lee, suggesting the necessary solution.
To a question regarding their thoughts of the priority support, Lee Ha-na answered it was food supply.

42% of the North Korean population being malnourished and 56% of rural residents drinking contaminated water:
The importance of helping North Koreans to be self-reliant

The second session featured lectures and discussions on “International organizations’ past aid projects in North Korea and their implications.” Kim Seon, director of Good Neighbors’ International Business Division, and Kim Hye-young, head of World Vision’s North Korean Business Division, shared experiences of each organization's support projects in North Korea. Professor Shin Young-jeon and Baek Ju-wang, head of the KOFIH Department of Inter- and Overseas Korean Cooperation, joined the discussion.
“When I went on a business trip to a hospital in Pyongyang, I saw them using beer bottles for Ringer’s solution. It really broke my heart. Before the inter-Korea exchanges were cut off, we focused on sustainable support through cooperation for pharmaceutical factories and the construction of a parasite research institute,” said Kim Seon. He added, “One of the advantages of projects in North Korea is the ease of communication as there is no need for an interpreter like in Africa. As all North Korean projects are currently stopped, we need to analyze successful cases and study more about North Korea.” Kim also commented on the characteristics of North Korean official development assistance (ODA) projects. He emphasized the importance of expanding private sector aids, saying that the average rate of private-sector ODA aid of OECD countries was 15%, compared to 2% in South Korea.
Kim Hye-young began her presentation by saying, “I’m often asked why we help North Korea when it manufactures weapons.” She mentioned that 42.4% of the North Korean population are malnourished, and 56% of rural residents drink contaminated stream water. Moreover, according to the UN, 14 million North Koreans depended on humanitarian aid as of 2021. “As the international community’s sanctions against North Korea continue to increase, humanitarian aid has been almost suspended. However, someone has to take care of children and residents who cannot protect the dignity of life just because they were born in that land. The target of our support is not the North Korean government but children and residents,” she said.
The two presenters shared the opinion that “the support for North Korean people should be in how they can be self-reliant, i.e., farming technique, rather than supplying food and goods.”

Participants taking a group photo

Desperate need for cooperation of the two Koreas and the international community
Must lead consensus among institutions and organizations through close cooperation

When asked about the strengths of civil society organizations (CSOs), Kim Seon said, “The World Food Programme spends about one-third of its budget on CSOs. The biggest strength of CSOs is that they are good listeners. Their role is to help the people systematically speak out, rather than focusing on the opinions of the government. I hope that the Korean government will help CSOs fulfill their role. If the government listens to North Korean people’s opinions as to the value of humanity, it will improve the performance indicators and our goals.”
Closing Session 2, Professor Shin Young-jeon said, “Peace in the West Sea cannot be achieved by an entity alone among South Korea, North Korea, or the international community. Even if we want to provide more nutritious flour, for instance, the international community may be acting as perpetrators of economic sanctions. It's time for us to carry out health and medical projects for cooperation between the two Koreas with concrete competence, not just words.”
Chu Mu-jin, the former head of KOFIH, said, “Inter-Korean health and medical cooperation is not something that only a few experts carry out. Under the common goal of achieving a healthy community on the Korean Peninsula, we need cooperation from the government, municipalities, the private sector, and international organizations. In the future, KOFIH and the associations will work with everyone to draw understanding and consensus of various institutions and organizations and open an opportunity for inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation.”
As the final session of the Academy, a satisfaction survey of online participants was conducted, showing many requests for continued lectures with comments like “I learned about healthcare support to North Korea that I didn't know well and ask for continued lectures,” “I liked the non-formal and natural sessions,” and “I hope that lectures on healthcare projects between South and North Korea will be offered.”
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. It is everyone's hope that we will arrive at our destination in no time by accumulating each other's wisdom one step at a time for the start of inter-Korean healthcare cooperation.