About Us
Suyeon Yang
Founder of Walden Korea.
Chairwoman of Jeju 4.3 Memorial and Families Association of the U.S.
Walden Korea is an academic and cultural organization that engages with the world on the issues of human rights, peace, and the environment.
Henry David Thoreau illustrates in Walden that self-reliance and autonomy are the basic needs of all human beings. Thoreau disapproves ofhis contemporary society because of its excessive materialism. He thought materialism had hindered personal development and made it difficult to live simply. In 1845, Thoreau moved into a cabin by Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts, to distance himself from the distractions of social life. Here he was free to choose how he would structure his daily life. Self-reliance is the ability to do things and make decisions alone, without needing the help of others. Thoreau believed that self-reliance was the only road to true freedom.
We will continue to approach the study of human rights and peace in the spirit of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, in which Thoreau practiced self-reliance and civil disobedience through labor, independence, peace, and frugality.
Background and Mission
The impetus for the founding of Walden Korea was the need for Korean history and cultural education among the second and third generations of Koreans in Boston, the cradle of American education. The Korean Wave is spreading rapidly across the globe, yet many second and third-generation Koreans lack a deep understanding of Korean culture and history that form the very basis of the Korea Wave and tend to view Korea through the narrow prism of marketing and pop culture. Walden Korea seeks to inform and educate the second and third-generation Koreans as well as non-Korean Americans about Korea’s millennia-old and unique history of developing an autonomous culture by virtue of pursuing peace, coexistence, and harmony with its bigger neighbors. Walden Korea seeks not only to inform and educate students but also to facilitate communication on such issues with leaders and experts in various fields.
Thoreau’s philosophy forms the basis of peaceful civil disobedience, which adumbrated the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and the Korean pro-democracy movement. Walden is the philosophical birthplace of the United States, a beacon of democracy and justice. Walden Korea draws from the powerful symbolism of Walden in representing the values of justice, peace, human rights, and safeguarding the environment.
Student Programs 'Walden Korea Planning Committee'
We provide special student programs to help students study international matters in Korea. We select the Walden Korea Planning Committee from young people in Korea and the United States. Currently, we are focusing on Jeju 4.3 uprising. The Jeju 4.3 uprising is a tragedy in Korean history in which more than 30,000 innocent Jeju citizens were killed. They were falsely accused of being communists and brutally killed. One-ninth of Jeju Island's population disappeared. It is a holocaust in Korea.
Walden Korea's first Planning Committee Members will study the 4.3 Uprising and prepare forums and journals.
Planning committee members will become familiar with Walden Korea's curriculum and may continue to participate in Walden Korea's content production and education programs for the general public once the international strategy forum is over.
We regularly recruit young planning committee members for Walden Korea.
