North Korea: Georgia Group Exporting the Building Blocks of Peace

By Trevor Williams
Global Atlanta – business news
7.29.10

Now may not seem like the best time to undertake a humanitarian project in North Korea. 

Tensions on the peninsula are at their highest point in years after a torpedo attack in March sank a South Korean naval vessel, the Cheonan, killing 46 sailors. The international community has blamed North Korea for the incident, and the U.S. has led the charge for greater sanctions against the reclusive country at the United Nations.

In its latest belligerent comments, North Korea has warned that joint military exercises conducted this week by South Korea and the U.S. would result in armed retaliation.

Against this ominous backdrop, a Georgia aid group is carrying on with a project aimed at fostering harmony by building homes in North Korea.

Based in Americus, the Fuller Center for Housing is partnering with the North Korean government to construct a 50-unit apartment complex in a small farming community outside the capital city ofPyongyang.

In addition to providing energy-efficient housing that can withstand natural disasters, the goal is to "demystify" the North Korean people to Americans, and vice versa, said David Snell, the Fuller Center’s president.

"We know very little about each other as people," Mr. Snell told GlobalAtlanta. "When I’m over there and I’m working with the folks, I could be anywhere in the world. People are people."

Read the full story here. 
Learn more about The Fuller Center’s work in North Korea.