The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Yong Hwan Kim, “Korea Eximbank”), the agency entrusted by the government to manage the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, has lately been engaged in a variety of activities to support North Korean defectors living in South Korea.

Korea Eximbank invited the ‘Pyongyang Folk Art Troupe’, made up of artists who escaped North Korea, to hold a concert at the bank’s Yeouido headquarters on November 14.

The concert was organized to support the artists and to enrich the Eximbank staff’s appreciation of North Korean culture and art.

The 20-member art troupe got a rousing ovation as they showcased North Korean music and dance numbers ranging from Bangapseupnida (‘Nice to meet you’) to Arirang and Hwuiparam (‘Whistle’).

Earlier, the bank also held a ‘mentoring’ session for North Korean defectors on November 9.

This program is meant to help North Korean defectors quickly settle down and stand on their own feet in South Korea by assigning one Korea Eximbank staff for each participant as a mentor.

The event was attended by 50 North Korean defectors living in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do and Incheon. Also present were representatives from the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business and the North Korea Education Research Association for Elementary and Middle Schools in Seoul, who respectively introduced the Work Experience program and the Children’s Education Support program for North Korean defectors.

Korea Eximbank plans to hold a second mentoring session at the end of the month to deepen the level of understanding between mentors and mentees.

Meanwhile, the bank hired a North Korean defector as a full-time employee on November 7, in order to benefit from a more accurate knowledge of North Korea in its inter-Korean operations.

This employee is currently working in the bank’s Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund Group, coordinating aid to North Korea.

Executive Director Man Ik Jang of the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund Group commented, “Korea Eximbank will further expand its support for the 24,000 North Korean defectors living in South Korea to help them settle down and start a better life.”