On September 24, four students gathered in the Student Union auditorium to educate themselves on the extensive crisis in North Korea.

The People’s Crisis is a documentary about the political oppression, denials of basic freedoms, poverty, food shortage and other crises that people living in North Korea face.

Osprey LiNK hosted the event, and is UNF’s chapter of Liberty in North Korea, a national organization based in California that works to bring attention and aid to those in the country. Abbie Bernet, the club’s president, said she is interested in South Korea because her brother was born there. One thought in particular has fueled her passion of the organization and its cause.

“I think the thought that he could have been born in North Korea, and his life could have been so different,” Bernet said.

Others in attendance on September 24 included some new Osprey LiNK members.

“I thought it was nice to see people caring about global issues,” sociology junior Kaylin Burgess said of her decision to attend the event and get involved.

Kelley Graham, a freshman English major, agreed, adding that she thought it was a good cause.

“It just can’t hurt to know something–to have compassion for another group of people,” Bernet said.

The hour-long documentary chronicles LiNK members’ efforts to get a group of refugees away from North Korea and resettled in a new home. The documentary was interspersed with background information on North Korea and personal testimonies from those who made it out of North Korea.

“I feel like I can’t say that I liked it,” said Burgess after viewing the documentary. “It’s really upsetting.”

For Bernet, documentaries like these are important to watch.

“It kind of just shows how similar we all are, but unfortunately how different we all are,” said Bernet. “It can kind of bring awareness to how lucky we are in the states.”

Osprey LiNK will be hosting another event, in which members of the national LiNK organization will come to campus and speak about the problems North Korea faces. The event will be on Oct. 29 in Founder’s Hall. For more information, find Osprey LiNK on Facebook.

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