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| Kim Dong-jin, right, chairman of the Hulbert Memorial Society, confers the U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award medal to Mackenzie Migdal, an intern at Korean nonprofit group Voluntary Agency Network Korea (VANK), on behalf of AmeriCorps, in Seoul, June 1. Courtesy of Hulbert Memorial Society |
By Kim Se-jeong
Mackenzie Migdal, an intern at Voluntary Agency Network Korea (VANK), a nonprofit group promoting Korea, received the U.S. President's Volunteer Service Award recently for her work promoting the life and contributions of Homer B. Hulbert (1863-1949), an American missionary and educator.
"I am very happy to be receiving this award. When I first began my internship, I never thought that I would receive anything like this. Hulbert is a big inspiration for me," Migdal told The Korea Times on Monday.
Hulbert came to Korea in 1886 at the end of the Joseon era (1392-1910) to teach at the Royal College which was established by King Gojong to provide modern education. In addition to teaching, he researched Korea's history and language and published his findings in 20 books and more than 300 separate writings.
Hulbert also advocated for Korea's independence from Japan's encroaching imperialism in the 1900s. For this reason, he was closely watched by the Japanese military, which pressured him to leave Korea in 1907 and banned him from returning. In 1949, after Korea's liberation, he returned and died here. The Korean government honored him posthumously with the Order of Merits for National Foundation and the Golden Order of Merit for Culture and Arts.
The award for Migdal was given by AmeriCorps, a U.S. federal agency that honors outstanding American nationals in their volunteer work.
A student at the University of Hawaii, she is currently living in Seoul. Although she had never heard of him before, since joining VANK, she has been promoting Hulbert for one year, creating content about him and promoting it for audiences outside Korea.
"'The Passing of Korea' was one of his books that made me realize that we don't know much about Korea," Migdal said of Hulbert as a source of her inspiration. "Later when he was removed from Korea and wasn't able to return, Hulbert never gave up. He didn't stop fighting for Korea. That was incredible. Until Korea was freed, he never gave up."
Born in New Mexico, Migdal grew up with an interest in Asian cultures. She found her passion for Korea in university while studying politics. She joined a school program, Korean for Professionals, through which she learned about Korea more in-depth and traveled to the country. The internship is part of the program.
Going back to Hawaii soon, Migdal said she will continue her work promoting Hulbert in the U.S.
"Because I want to become a diplomat, I want to continue the work that he did," she said.
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