Our Affiliated Project: The Shin Mang Ae Children’s Home in Daegu, South Korea

 

facts about the Shin Mang Ae 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: A well-maintained complex comprised of three large dormitories, a dining room, a kitchen, a chapel and utility/storage buildings. The grounds include playgrounds as well as shrubs and flowers, all tended by the children.
  • Education: School-aged children attend public schools in the area, while younger children attend nursery school at the home.
  • 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: Include daily chores and recreational activities such as volleyball, basketball and baseball.
  • Nutrition: Children receive three nutritious meals each day, with kimchi (the peppery cabbage-based staple of the Korean diet) occupying a prominent place on the table.

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, Shin Mang Ae Children’s Home traces its origin to efforts to address this postwar crisis. Located in the bustling industrial city of Daegu, Shin Mang Ae Children’s Home continues its mission of providing orphaned and underprivileged children with a safe, nurturing home environment, nutritious food and medical care.

Many of the children who come to Shin Mang Ae 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.