Our Affiliated
Project: The Jin Woo Children’s Home
in Gyeongsangnam, South Korea

 

facts about the Jin Woo Children’s Home:

  • Ages served: While children of all ages receive care at the home, those enrolled in our sponsorship program typically range in age from 4 to 18 years old.
  • Facility description: The dormitories consist of clusters of cabins, each containing individual sleeping rooms, a bathroom and a study room. The main building comprises a kitchen, a dining hall, an auditorium, a laundry room, a library and a classroom for English lessons and calligraphy. The grounds also contain an active farm, which the children contribute to tending.
  • Education: School-aged children attend local public schools, where they receive instruction in core academic subjects and rudimentary English.
  • Academic schedule: The school year begins in March and ends in February, with a long summer break. Children are also excused from classes on national holidays.
  • Extracurricular activities: The children participate in a variety of assigned chores including farm work and cooking. For recreation, children enjoy flying colorful kites and play soccer and volleyball.
  • Nutrition: Children receive three nutritious meals each day, often incorporating produce grown on the home’s grounds.

Comprising the lower half of a mountainous peninsula in East Asia, South Korea is truly a nation of contrasts. Although it emerged as an autonomous country in the aftermath of World War II, its rich culture and heritage reach back thousands of years.

Today, this populous nation (with a population density ten times higher than the global average) is renowned for its advancements in technology. However, more than half a century after the Korean War armistice, South Korea is still haunted by the ghosts of its turbulent past. The Korean War (1950-1953) devastated South Korea, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives — both military and civilian — and leaving thousands of children orphaned.

Like many South Korean orphanages, Jin Woo Children’s Home traces its origin to efforts to address this postwar crisis. Originally located on the island of Jin Woo (for which it is named) and founded as a boys’ home, the Jin Woo Children’s Home has since relocated to the beautiful hills above the town of Gyeongsangnam, near the busy eastern seaport of Busan, and has recently begun to admit girls as well.

Today, the Jin Woo Children’s Home continues in its mission of providing orphaned and underprivileged children with a safe and nurturing home environment, nutritious food and medical care. Here, each child receives respect, encouragement and the opportunity to rise above the difficult socioeconomic circumstances from which s/he has come.