Our Affiliated
Project: The Dong San Children’s Home in Busan, South Korea

 

facts about the Dong San 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 5 to 19 years old.
  • Facility description: Situated amid the high-rise apartment buildings of Busan, the home is an attractive modern two-story brick building comprising dormitories, a kitchen, a dining room and community spaces. The grounds include a well-equipped playground and a playing field for sports.
  • 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, such as the Moon Festival — a celebration of the harvest which is similar to America’s Thanksgiving.
  • Extracurricular activities: Children perform assigned daily chores at the home. For recreation, they play on the playground or participate in popular sports like volleyball, soccer and baseball.
  • Nutrition: Children receive three nutritious meals each day.

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, Dong San Children’s Home traces its origin to efforts to address this postwar crisis. Located in the busy, major seaport of Busan, Dong San Children’s Home continues its mission of providing orphaned and underprivileged children in this region of South Korea with a safe, nurturing home environment, nutritious food and medical care — all while instilling the core values of honesty, integrity and compassion for others.

Many of the children who come to Dong San Children’s Home learn for the first time in their lives what it means to be loved and looked after. Here, each child receives respect, encouragement and the opportunity to rise above the difficult socioeconomic circumstances from which s/he has come.