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[Urgent] Rescue Group Waiting to Move
Liberty in North Korea At Liberty in North Korea (LiNK), secret rescue routes stretch nearly 3,000 miles starting in Northeast China and ending when a North Korean refugee finally reaches Southeast Asia and can safely travel on to South Korea. It’s often described as a modern underground railroad, and that’s exactly what it feels like. Continue reading
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Cook Children’s Volunteers Newsletter_Nov2025
I can’t believe it’s already Thanksgiving. This year has flown by! 🍁🦃 I hope you’re able to slow down a bit and enjoy the holiday with your family and friends, making space for rest, laughter, and lots of good food. Putting together Cook Children’s Hospital Volunteers’ Newsletter each month has been such a meaningful experience. Continue reading
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North Korea 101: Learn with, not just about, the people
If you care about human dignity and want real understanding beyond the headlines, North Korea 101 is a free, self-paced course built around the people’s perspective. It includes guided lessons, study resources, and interviews with recent escapees and issue experts. Why this course mattersFrom the outside, it can look like nothing changes except for more Continue reading
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2025 Stitch-a-Wish needs
For the past two years, I’ve worked with Stitch-a-Wish, a Cook Children Hospital’s program where community members sew, knit, and crochet comfort items for pediatric patients. We create child-friendly pillowcases and small pillows that kids can use during their stay and take home, plus items like telemetry bibs and medical play dolls that help little Continue reading
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Happy Chuseok!
Chuseok, Across a Divided Peninsula As we mark Chuseok—the mid-autumn harvest festival often called “Korean Thanksgiving”—Koreans everywhere gather to cook, travel home, and honor ancestors. The holiday predates the division of the peninsula; on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, families prepare offerings, share special foods, and remember those who came before them. Continue reading
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Shining the Light Again: Korea’s 80th Liberation Day
On August 15, 1945, Koreans stepped into a new dawn. After thirty-five years of Japanese colonial rule, the nation was free. That date is now remembered as Gwangbokjeol (광복절), “the day the light returned.” This year, 2025, marked the 80th anniversary of that historic day. Eight decades later, Gwangbokjeol continues to remind us that freedom Continue reading
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Fish Camp: 550 Stories in One Day
What happens when you put 400 wide-eyed freshmen and 150 spirited upperclassmen into one day of icebreakers, themed skits, and late-night decorating marathons? You get something more than an orientation; you get a living, breathing story. I’ve had the privilege of leading Fish Camp, our school’s annual freshmen orientation. My role wasn’t just logistical. It Continue reading
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My Summer at M&TSI, U Penn
What is the formula for a life-changing experience? If you were to write it down, you might start with a few impressive variables: a world-class university, an ambitious goal, and a cohort of brilliant, driven peers from every corner of the globe. This summer, I had all of those ingredients as I stepped onto the Continue reading
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Beyond Recall: Why Memory Isn’t About the Past
When people hear the word memory, they often imagine a mental photo album—a tidy archive of everything we’ve seen, felt, or done. But what if I told you that memory isn’t really about the past at all? In fact, one of the most transformative insights I’ve gained through neuroscience research is this: memory evolved not Continue reading
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A Teen’s Plea: Don’t Let North Korea Be Forgotten
When I tell people I’m from Korea, they often think of vibrant K-pop bands, Seoul’s futuristic skyline, or spicy tteokbokki. But very few ever ask about the other Korea—the one hidden behind walls, wires, and silence. The one where children go to bed hungry, families are torn apart, and freedom is not even a dream. Continue reading
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[Fundraising] Help North Korean Children Escape Oppression
Thank you so much for your support! The fundraising has successfully reached the goal. Your generosity made this possible. Your compassion and belief in this cause have brought real hope to children who need it most. Though this fundraiser is complete, the journey for justice and freedom continues. Thank you again for standing with us, Continue reading
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IGNIS Community is back in North Korea!
IGNIS Community is back in the DPRK! After five long years of waiting, we are thrilled to reunite with our North Korean, DPRK(The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) counterparts. However, during this time, the country has undergone many changes, including personnel shifts. As a result, IGNIS team will need to invest time, effort, and trust Continue reading
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The Constructive Episodic Simulation Hypothesis
Bartlett and others have consistently pointed out that memory is constructive. Bartlett argued that memory is influenced by a person’s prior knowledge, beliefs, and expectations and that one uses these factors to fill in gaps in his or her memory to create a coherent story or narrative. For example, in one of his famous studies, Bartlett Continue reading
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Compassion: Empowering Children Around the World
I want to share an incredible organization called Compassion International. If you haven’t heard of them yet, you’re in for a treat. Compassion is all about making a real difference in the lives of children living in poverty, and they’ve been doing it in a unique, heartfelt way for decades. So, what’s Compassion all about? Continue reading
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Navigating Parental Divorce: Strategies for Children’s Emotional Development
Navigating Parental Divorce: Strategies for Children’s Emotional Development Divorce can be a challenging and emotional time for families, especially for children. Research shows that children of divorce may experience a range of emotions such as sadness, confusion, anger, and anxiety. As a result, it is crucial for parents to provide the necessary support and guidance Continue reading
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Dress For Success
Dress for Success® Worldwide is the leading global nonprofit employment resource for unemployed and underemployed women. The mission of Dress for Success is to help unemployed and underemployed women achieve economic independence by providing no-fee programs, development tools and professional attire to thrive in work and in life. Since starting operations in 1997, Dress for Continue reading
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Liberty in North Korea
Liberty in North Korea (LiNK) is an organization dedicated to supporting North Korean refugees as they escape the oppressive and dangerous regime in their home country. Through a combination of grassroots activism, advocacy, and a life-saving rescue program, LiNK provides vital assistance to individuals who are fleeing one of the most repressive regimes in the Continue reading
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The neuroscience of athletic excellence – what sets champions apart?
One of the greatest sporting events, the Summer Olympics, is just around the corner. Kicking off July 26th in Paris, France, more than 10,000 athletes from over 200 nations will compete in 32 sports (329 medal events) to bring home an Olympic gold medal. Originating in ancient Greece in 776 BCE as a tribute to honor Continue reading
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Finding Peace in a Conflicted World
In the midst of rising international conflicts, how can we find peace in a conflicted world? Devastation in Gaza wages on as Israeli troops position themselves in Rafah for a full-scale incursion. Fierce fighting continues as Russia advances into Ukraine, capturing five more villages in the Donetsk region. Fire has destroyed and damaged 72 villages Continue reading
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CASA(Court Appointed Special Advocates) for children
Advocate for Children Lend your voice. Court-appointed special advocate (CASA) and guardian ad litem (GAL) volunteers advocate for the best-interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Volunteers work with child welfare professionals, educators and service providers to ensure that judges have the information they need to make the most well-informed decisions for each Continue reading
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So if our memory is scattered throughout the brain… How does the brain manage it?
In the previous post, I talked about a major takeaway from the Brain Awareness Week Lecture. The surprising fact I learned is that memory is not stored like a piggy bank being slowly filled from the bottom. Rather, each memory is broken down into patterns and scattered in the form of neural connections. The first thought that crossed Continue reading
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Will I forget who you are if the part where your info is stored gets impaired?
Memory is not stored in a single location within the hippocampus; it is distributed across various brain regions, relying on neural patterns and consolidating connections for retrieval. Continue reading
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Enhancing North Korea Humanitarian Assistance Act: A Step Toward Meaningful Aid
In a world where geopolitical tensions often overshadow humanitarian concerns, the Enhancing North Korea Humanitarian Assistance Act seeks to prioritize aid for those in dire need. This legislation aims to streamline and expand the delivery of essential humanitarian aid to the people of North Korea, who continue to face food shortages, medical crises, and economic Continue reading
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IGNIS Community
Starting from one family in 2008, IGNIS Community (Sunyanghana) has become a global organization gathered together for one mission – to share love with North Koreans. Going beyond politics and ideology, IGNIS operates various type of projects that are done with integrity and compliant to the local as well as international law. IGNIS offers special Continue reading
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Everything You Need to Know About Becoming a Foster Parent in Texas
How to become a foster parent in Texas Becoming a foster parent in Texas is a process that requires the completion of several steps. Becoming a foster parent includes attending an orientation, completing required training, and passing a background check. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent in Texas, please contact your local Continue reading
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9 Dos and Don’ts About Writing Letters to Your Sponsored Child
The question our sponsorship staff encounters most frequently is, “Can I write my sponsored child?” This is a fantastic question! It shows that you take your sponsorship seriously — often sending positive thoughts or prayers to your sponsored child, and wondering how he or she is doing. Your desire to connect with your sponsored child is one Continue reading
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Every child deserves a loving home, Holt International
Who is Holt International? Holt International is a Christian organization that provides care and support to many of the world’s most vulnerable children. We empower families to overcome poverty, care for children in orphanages and unite children with families through adoption. Holt pioneered the modern practice of international adoption in 1956 and continues to be the leading Continue reading
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IKAA International Gatherings
Since the Korean War, over 200,000 international adoptions have taken place from Korea. The International Korean Adoptees Associations (IKAA) creates opportunities for Korean adoptees to establish meaningful connections, share information, and acknowledge our lived experiences as individuals and as a community. The IKAA Network was the first of its kind, bringing together adoptee organizations from around the Continue reading
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70 Years Frozen in War
This Thursday, July 27, 2023, marks the 70th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement. When the armistice was signed in 1953, it was designed to “ensure a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peaceful settlement is achieved” (from the original Armistice Agreement). Unfortunately, over Continue reading
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Living in the Violence of Division
73 years ago, the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950. It was a conflict that was rooted in ideological clashes and led to division on the Korean Peninsula. The reality of this conflict cannot be escaped even today. The Korean War continues within individuals and society as a whole in both the South Continue reading
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Adaptive Forgetting
Indeed, the Constructive Episodic Memory Hypothesis is just a hypothesis. While many researchers from Schacter and Addis to Watson and McDermott have offered data in support of this view, the hypothesis is not fully embraced by the entire community. There is a lot more work that needs to be done for the hypothesis to be accepted as a Continue reading
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Child Abuse Prevention & Awareness Month
April is recognized nationally as Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness and promoting actions to prevent child abuse and neglect. Established in 1983, this observance encourages communities to support families and ensure the safety and well-being of children across the country. Understanding Child Abuse Child abuse encompasses various forms of maltreatment, Continue reading
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Brain Awareness Week
Brain Awareness Week (March 13 – 19, 2023) Brain Awareness Week (BAW) is an annual global campaign dedicated to increasing public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research. Established in 1995 by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, BAW unites the efforts of partners worldwide in a week-long celebration of the brain every Continue reading
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Empowering Youth Through Mentorship: Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Every child deserves the chance to reach their full potential, but not all children have the support system they need to thrive. This is where Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBS) steps in. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, BBBS is dedicated to creating and supporting one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise Continue reading
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Understanding Brain Development in Children for Effective Mentoring
If you’ve ever worked with kids—whether tutoring, babysitting, or mentoring—you’ve probably noticed how they absorb information, react to challenges, and manage their emotions in completely different ways. Some kids stay focused for hours, while others get distracted in minutes. Some handle frustration calmly, while others have big emotional outbursts. What’s going on? A lot of Continue reading
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About Asia Families
If you’re looking for an organization that’s making a real difference in the lives of Korean adoptees and their families, let me introduce you to ASIA Families (https://www.asiafamilies.org/). This nonprofit, based out of Leesburg, Virginia, has been a lifeline for the Korean adoption community since 2010. Their mission? To create a supportive, welcoming space where Continue reading
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Teens Connect The World: Brain, Children and Love 