Hongik Ingan is a local answer to global developments: growing alienation between people, increasing social isolation, and the loss of places where one can grow safely, find like-minded people and feel part of a living community.
Our aim is to create an environment that encourages inner growth, strengthens social bonds and helps people find their place in society. We want to support especially those who are vulnerable, and to contribute to their integration into an open, supportive community.
Who we are
Hongik Ingan e.V. is a registered non-profit association in Simmerath. Our purposes are youth welfare, art and culture, and help for refugees. In practice, we bring children, young people and families together, open doors to cultural experiences such as music and Korean culture, and, where means are lacking, cover costs so that no child has to stay on the sidelines.
Der Name Hongik Ingan (弘益人間) ist ein altes koreanisches Prinzip: „Zum Wohle aller Menschen leben und handeln.“
The board
Beyond their work for the association, each of our board members has created places where people belong.
Pavel Tyan
First Chairman
Pavel is a physician in oncology research, a hobby musician and of Korean descent. He cares especially for the cultural side of our work: the traditions and ideas behind Hongik Ingan, and how they can connect people today. Since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine he has volunteered to support Ukrainian refugees, among other things by founding a martial arts club for them in Aachen.
Iurii Golovin
Second Chairman
Iurii is a professional jazz trumpeter. Like many Ukrainians, he came to Germany as a refugee in 2022. The stress of forced relocation, personal losses, cultural differences and the language barrier made life very hard, especially for children. To help his compatriots, he founded two martial arts clubs in Neuss and Mönchengladbach, entirely on a voluntary basis. They gave Ukrainian families a fixed place and time in an unfamiliar country, where children and adults came together, trained together and met others who understood what they were going through. This helped them cope with the burden of war and displacement. He kept the clubs going through difficult times of his own, because they mattered too much for the children. That kind of resilience, which grows from shared effort and a community that holds, is what Hongik Ingan stands for.
Olga Morgun
Treasurer
Olga is a professional violinist and music teacher. She has lived in Germany since 2022 and knows from her own experience how hard it is to rebuild a professional life in a new country. She runs a music studio for young children, most of them Ukrainian refugee children, and she created the European Music Talent Platform (EMTP) as an international platform that connects musicians and teachers, among them many Ukrainian refugees, through concerts, workshops and joint projects. Her conviction is that every child should be able to perform, gain stage experience and grow. As our treasurer, she looks after the association’s finances.
Get involved
Whether you want to take part, volunteer or support our work, we would be glad to hear from you.