Yiombi Thona is the current Chair of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) and a Professor at Gwangju University where he is teaching Human Rights, Forced Migration, Diaspora, NGO, African Studies and Race and Gender. Mr Thona is also a visiting Professor at Chonnam University where he is teaching Human Rights Defenders Risk Management.
Yiombi Thona received an M.A in Economics from Kinshasa University in Congo and an M.A in NGO studies from Sungkonghoe University in Korea, and he is a Political Science Ph.D. cand. at Ottawa University in Canada. He received extended training in National Intelligence and Security from Congo. He also received some certificates including on Refugee Mental Health (APRRN in Hong Kong) and Forced Migration and Refugees at York University in Canada and Human Rights at Korea University.
After working as a National Intelligence officer in Congo for more than seven years, he was forced to flee his country from persecution and was granted the Refugee status in South Korea. Mr. Yiombi has experienced all Korean’s social life: He worked in factories, in a hospital as manager, worked in NGOs for Refugees as coordinator and researcher.
Mr. Yiombi is a well-known Refugee rights activist in South Korea. He recently published a book, “My name is Yiombi: Living as a Refugee in South Korea.” This book is seen as a “Refugee Manifesto” because of the Korean citizens’ scholar’s positive reaction to it. Mr. Yiombi is a well-known activist by the Korean media twice a month). Recently, he has been seen on a famous documentary on KBS, the Korean number on public TV. The most important thing is, Mr. Yiombi’s activities related to Refugees, race and gender discriminations and multicultural families. After graduating from Sungkonghoe University in 2010 in NGO Studies (MA), he has been giving special lectures in many Universities in Korea.
At the same year, he was nominated Adviser at Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network . Three years after, he was elected Chair of APRRN East Asia Working Group. Last September 22nd Yiombi was elected Chair of Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, APRRN by acclamation in Bankok, Thailand. Moreover, Mr. Yiombi was invited twice by the UN General Assembly in New York on July 18, September 2016, as a speaker on Migrants and Refugees.
