International Activity Report 2006

South Korea

International Staff: 2

National Staff: 5

The present conditions in North Korea make it impossible to provide independent and impartial humanitarian assistance directly inside the country and reach those that need it most. In 2005/2006, MSF provided care to North Korean refugees through projects operating out of South Korea.

In Seoul, MSF has been the only foreign organization present in the transit governmental center of Hanawon, where North Korean refugees are placed for their first three months upon arrival in the country. MSF has developed mental healthcare activities in Hanawon to help refugees cope with symptoms of trauma — over 200 patients received MSF psychological support in 2005.

Following strong lobbying by MSF, positive measures have been undertaken by South Korean authorities to provide much-needed psychological support for North Koreans both within and after they leave the transit center. In April 2006, 150 mental health professionals attended a conference mounted in collaboration with the University of Psychiatry, Seoul, to discuss therapeutic approaches to care and review the three years of the MSF mental health project. Responsibility for the provision of psychological assistance to refugees was then handed over to local authorities.

MSF worked in North Korea from 1995 to 1998 and has worked with North Korean refugees since 1998.