Meet Han!

This charmer is 8 years old and a small but mighty boy.  He is in the second grade.  His favorite subject is Social Studies and his favorite color is blue.  He likes grapes and considers them a special treat.  There was a clump of grapes on the table while I was interviewing him and he was quickly eating them. Like the other children at Sae Dul, he attends a nearby elementary school that is named for hot springs in the...

Yong Min Won Home

Located in Limgok, it was a pleasant drive through the countryside lined with greenhouses, traditional Korean homes, and gravesites, ending with a steep climb up a mountain that brought us to Yong Min Won (Home).  Like most of the homes, this one opened after the Korean War to provide a home for the thousands of orphans left behind.  Now, the children are typically coming from homes where there was abuse or divorce; in...

Hee Rak Home

This home houses 58 children, many of them in middle and high school.  As in most of the homes, there are more boys than girls and there is definitely “boy energy” on the grounds!  Lots of running, horseplay, and SOCCER.  These guys are crazy about soccer.  The children also have the chance to learn traditional Korea drumming, working with rain barrels to practice before advancing to “real” drums.  The drumming...

Orphanage Directors Meet the Challenges

The stories I heard while visiting children’s homes (or orphanages) tell me that the challenges are great for any system trying to help children grow up without parents. The South  Korean government is still trying to sort out how best to do this, with great emphasis on teaching children the social, financial and basic living skills they need to survive in the world as young adults.  The stigma of coming from an orphanage...