Prof. Hahm Appointed to South Korea’s Peaceful Unification Advisory Council by President Yoon Suk Yeol
South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has appointed Prof. Hyeouk Chris Hahm from BU School of Social Work to serve on the country’s Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, in an effort to build peaceful relations between North and South Korea.
“In light of the escalating tensions in current international relations and the growing threat posed by North Korea, the advisory board’s role to the South Korean President is crucial,” says Hahm. “I am so honored to serve in this capacity.”
The primary function of the Council, whose members are chosen by the country’s president, is to collect public opinion on unification, review current and future policies on reunification, and offer advice and recommendations to the president. Created in 1980, The Council’s goal is to unify the two countries on a bipartisan and pan-national basis, creating a space for constructive discourse on unification and encouraging international collaboration of experts, ambassadors, and policy-makers.
Prof. Hahm has extensive experience studying mental health in Asian and Asian American communities. She has tested and developed the Asian American Women’s Actions in Resilience and Empowerment (AWARE) intervention to address mental health issues and prevent suicide behaviors in Asian American women. This original intervention was adapted to create Youth AWARE for high school students, and AWARE for Artists for artists. She also serves as the editorial board member of the Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, and the Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work in the U.S.