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| Woo Misun, program officer of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) | ||
(아주경제 이정은 기자) There are not many people who have jobs that they have been dreaming of. It is also hard to make contribution to one’s society at workplace. Woo Mi-sun is a lucky person, in this respect, because she is the one who has a job that she has been dreamed of and her job is also about making the society better.
She is a program officer in Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD).
APWLD is an independent, non-government, non-profit organization committed to help women use law as an instrument of social change for equality, justice and development. Also it has a consultative status at the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC).
As a program officer, she reports about activities regarding Asian women's human rights to the world and suggests ways to improve international laws and policies.
When Woo was an undergraduate student studying law at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, she was interested in refugee issues, particularly about North Korean defectors. "I thought that the law systems and law studies could protect their freedom and rights," she said.
When she worked as a program officer at Citizens' Alliance for North Korean Human Rights in Seoul, she could meet female North Korean refugees. "At that time, I was moved to tears by what they said. Then, I made my mind to help them," she said.
Then she entered the New York University School of Law (NYU Law) and studied more on women's right.
After she graduated the law school, she prepared for both entering the doctor's course and bar exam. One day, she thought that the real experience on law would be the foundation for long-term study on laws. That's the reason why she works in APWLD.
The 33-year-old officer is working at APWLD headquarter in Bangkok and still is struggling gaps between ideals pursued by international laws and the world of realities.
She recalls an unforgettable moment in a forum which was held in 2008 with the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. At that time, a woman from Papua New Guinea told her how she is grateful to listen to her stories and meeting woman activists like Woo.
"Preparing space to communicate, talking and listening each other's stories, and efforts to understand other people will change the society," she said. Woo said that she was inspired from the woman from Papua New Guinea.
Woo praised ongoing activities designed to improve Korean women's rights. Compared to others' in Asia-Pacific region, systems and influence of Korean women's movement are outstanding. "To secure Asian women's human right, Korea needs to play a leading role now," she insisted.
"Korean women's right activists need to monitor whether the law and social system are being executed properly and to provide continuous education to achieve equality in society," Woo said. "We need to pay attention to the North Korean female refugees, immigrant workers and the disabled," she added.
"To improve rules based on ideas from the male-dominant society, it is important to change not only social and structural system, but also people’s point of views and attitude," she said.
"Most of social problems start from everyone's attitude. Everything depends on how determined you are," she said. "To cherish each other is the first step to make better society," she added.
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