Issues
The children who defect from North Korea have been robbed of the same opportunities to the arts that most of us have been afforded throughout our lives.
When these children defect from North Korea and arrive in South Korea, they are void of an understanding of art and lack purpose.
Much of their lives have been riddled with domestic abuse, indoctrination into the North Korean lie, and tragedy beyond what we can understand.
The experiences of these children are diverse both in age and assimilation into South Korean life but they are connected
through their experiences in both North and South Korea and now through this orchestra.
The sad truth is that the South Korean government isn’t providing the crucial social help to these kids which acted as the catalyst for our organization.
Our Mission
Youth Orchestra Without Borders aims to help assimilate
and provide a sanctuary for North Korean defectors.
As a group of musicians, we understand and believe in the ability of
music to enrich the lives of people everywhere, and we want to utilize
this ability for those whose past has been traumatic, and whose world’s have been uprooted.
Moving forward, we would like to help heal and facilitate emotional growth for not just North Korean defectors,
but also for disadvantaged youth around Korea and South East Asia,
eventually crossing the globe with our support systems and with music.
We want to give a community and a place to people struggling to find one.
About Us
We are a group of international students, hailing from South Korea, the United States, Australia, England, and the Bahamas.
Despite coming from a diversity of backgrounds, we have one common goal in mind: to use music as a means of aiding
and assimilating teenage North Korean refugees.
Our members work both on the ground teaching lessons and even performing in our concerts and behind the scenes managing donations
and formulating long-term plans.
Our organization was born in October of 2018 when we met twenty-two North Korean refugees from Durihana, South Korea.
The idea for Youth Orchestra Without Borders was born, and now three years later,
we recruit coaches, teach lessons, spread awareness through social media, design and conduct concerts, and, most importantly,
create a safe and welcoming space for the members of Youth Orchestra Without Borders.