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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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 Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:14 am Post subject: Christmas gifts for Korean orphans |
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My husband's company chaplain is gathering Christmas gifts for an orphanage north of Uijeongbu. If anyone would like to contribute then great!
Kids without families in Korea have it pretty hard.
Toys, books, crayons, games, paper, etc are good, but they also need clothing. Especially for the girls. Since so many of you teach kids, you know the stuff they like, and what their sizes are for clothing.
If you're a sharp shopper roughly 20,000W can buy a kid a winter coat (10,000W) a hat (1000W) gloves (1000W) pack of socks (2000W) and a pair of pajamas (7,800W) for example. Winter boots are needed as well.
Emart is a good place for bargains, as are the street-side clothing vendors.
Doesn't have to be new stuff, you can donate used stuff as well.
Anyone interested in making a kid's Christmas a little brighter this year and if you're in or near Seoul, do the shopping and pm me, I'll be bringing all the stuff I've collected up north on weekends for the next few weeks.
Cheers!
Canuckistan |
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trevorcollins
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 1:59 am Post subject: |
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Good thread, Canuckistan.
U should use some of ur mod powers for good instead of evil and keep this baby at the top for the next month or so.  |
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chiaa
Joined: 23 Aug 2003
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 3:44 am Post subject: |
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Sign up for an account on our website http://www.whatthebook.com and I will credit the account with 50.000 won for some kids books. PM me with this user name you started the thread with so I know it is you (tell me the email) and not some clown trying to pull a fast one.
You can also make the store a drop off point for the goods people collect if you like. |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 4:34 am Post subject: |
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Hey that's awesome Chiaa, thank you!!!!!!
I've donated 150,000W and made it go surprisingly far buying winter clothing. God bless "Made in China" for once! 
I've also gone through my apt and collected a lot of great stuff kids like that I've never used and will just end up throwing out anyways: playing cards, colored paper, all that schmooky jewelery I've never worn, hagwon promotional freebies....
Collection will only go until the 10th of December unfortunately, so if you're up for donating something there's not that much time left!
Drop off's at Chiaa's would be great, I can pick them up on the Dec. 9th and make sure they get up north by the 10th.
Gracias everyone for any effort you make |
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rapier
Joined: 16 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 4:38 am Post subject: |
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| Do Koreans look after their own orphans/disabled at all? Or do they ignore them because they're not related to them, leaving the job of caring for unfortunates largely in the hands of those horrible foreign people? |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 4:47 am Post subject: |
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| rapier wrote: |
| Do Koreans look after their own orphans/disabled at all? Or do they ignore them because they're not related to them, leaving the job of caring for unfortunates largely in the hands of those horrible foreign people? |
There are plenty of Koreans who give a *beep*. The chaplain running this is Korean.
Instead of mooing, why not just donate something and make a teeny little difference? |
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Universalis
Joined: 17 Nov 2003
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 5:57 am Post subject: |
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I have some games here that I'm trying to get rid... I'd be happy to donate some of the kid-friendly ones to the charity.
I'll try to make it to Chris's shop sometime soon and drop them off there.
Brian |
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inexhile
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:18 am Post subject: |
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I've been workin in an orphanage for about 5 months now. They are well looked after with some of the big companies and government throwin alot of cash their way. This of course was not always the way. They want for nothing in the way of clothing and food. They get free movies and exercise equipment, and even have a very modern PC bang just for them.
I'm guessin this place isn't too well funded so donations are its lifeline. But also look into your local areas.
I'd say spend time instead of money with them to really help. They are good kids, very different from your hogwon kid. They have a chip on their shoulder and there's a real solidarity amongst them. Interestingly, most have parents, but they are unable to afford their basic needs and schooling. |
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desultude
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Dangling my toes in the Persian Gulf
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:25 am Post subject: |
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| rapier wrote: |
| Do Koreans look after their own orphans/disabled at all? Or do they ignore them because they're not related to them, leaving the job of caring for unfortunates largely in the hands of those horrible foreign people? |
Several of my better students volunteer to teach English to orphans, and there is a collection going on now in my building, being headed by a Korean. Every time I have been recruited to do anything for orphans, it has been by Koreans.
I also have a couple of students who teach English to poor workers, and some who teach Korean to immigrants. |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 6:55 am Post subject: |
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| inexhile wrote: |
I've been workin in an orphanage for about 5 months now. They are well looked after with some of the big companies and government throwin alot of cash their way. This of course was not always the way. They want for nothing in the way of clothing and food. They get free movies and exercise equipment, and even have a very modern PC bang just for them.
I'm guessin this place isn't too well funded so donations are its lifeline. But also look into your local areas.
I'd say spend time instead of money with them to really help. They are good kids, very different from your hogwon kid. They have a chip on their shoulder and there's a real solidarity amongst them. Interestingly, most have parents, but they are unable to afford their basic needs and schooling. |
These ones are in Tongducheon which is anything but rich or funded by companies/gov't to such an extent that they don't want for things like clothing. They are largely supported by the US military base. |
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casey's moon
Joined: 14 Sep 2004
Location: Daejeon
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:04 am Post subject: |
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I'm still in contact with students at an orphanage in Gunsan, which is also largely supported by the U.S. military. Lots of Koreans volunteer there, and some of them have been volunteering for years and years. Sometimes I think the volunteers who come and disappear a few months later do more harm than good...
Canuckistan, I admire your work here for these kids! I'm still helping my old students from Gunsan. But I actually have some books I was going to bring to Chiaa anyway -- instead of receiving money for them, I wonder if I could have that money go for the Christmas drive? (This is a question for Chiaa) One of them is a hardcover Harry Potter -- must be worth something, right? |
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inexhile
Joined: 18 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:20 am Post subject: |
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[quote="canuckistan
These ones are in Tongducheon which is anything but rich or funded by companies/gov't to such an extent that they don't want for things like clothing. They are largely supported by the US military base.[/quote]
Sorry Canuckistan, I wasn't mowing your grass. I am well aware of the differences. I figured that anyone reading might also find the time to give as well as some cash. And yes I will be making a donation. The place I volunteer at was also started by US military 50 years ago. |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:48 am Post subject: |
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A big thanks to all who are being so supportive!
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| The place I volunteer at was also started by US military 50 years ago. |
What a lot of people don't know, Koreans included, is that so many orphanages here were started by the US military and are still supported by them. Every Christmas soldiers donate a *huge* amount of toys and gifts to Korean orphans.
Giving time to them on a regular basis is certainly more impacting than just giving stuff at Christmas and then forgetting about them for the rest of the year. Unfortunately crazy hagwon hours don't always make it that easy for foreigners to do.
Thanks again to Chiaa for providing a drop-off point, I'll swing by Chiaa's store on Dec 9th to pick up whatever has been donated and deliver it that evening in time for the 10th.
Nothing is too small or inconsequential and used stuff is fine! |
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pecan
Joined: 01 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 5:51 pm Post subject: More to it... |
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| canuckistan wrote: |
| What a lot of people don't know, Koreans included, is that so many orphanages here were started by the US military and are still supported by them. |
It is great what you are doing, though your history is a bit distorted.
Rightly, the U.S. military started the orphanages, as they were directly responsible for the orphans.
In the late 1950s the U.S. government and the Republic of Korea signed a Mutual Defense Treaty, which formally granted the stationing of U.S. troops in Korea with the stipulation that R&R sites would be provided for American GIs. These American troops are seen as the demand side of the prostitution equation and they induced a huge economic boom for Korea. Even in 1998 the use of Korean camptowns by U.S. soldiers was still occurring (Dongducheon is a prime example). Moreover, statistics show that the number of prostitutes dealing solely with the 36,000 U.S. soldiers still stationed in South Korea is more that 18,000. That equals to approximately one prostitute for every two soldiers. Presumably, society would see a problem with this continual victimization of women, however, it is apparent that where there are American soldiers there will also be government-funded and condoned brothels.
The creation of the Rest & Recreation sites, i.e., government-funded brothels, which have been in full-fledge use since the Korean War are an embarrassment.
| Quote: |
| "The Korean government stated that military comfort girls (prostitutes) should be able to serve 29 officers per day if the comfort girl is working at her maximum level. The government even dictated that intercourse should not exceed thirty minutes, otherwise, the prostitute may not be able to serve as many men." |
These women are known in Korea as kisaeng, which means "rented wife." The term rented wife proposes that the prostitute will act as a housekeeper for the soldier and then be forced to provide sexual services.
Many of these women are left with children of GIs (a.k.a., souvenir babies) and no economic support. Unfortunately, this practice merely perpetuates this endless cycle of prostitution. Many of their children (souvenir babies) become prostitutes themselves.
There is no justifiable reason for the United States government to provide funding and policies that condone and perpetuate military-base prostitution in U.S. occupied countries, like Korea.
It is great to want to support these children. I just wish people would address the cause and the source of this problem in our society so we could stop it.
Nut
Rita Nakashima Brock and Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Casting Stones: Prostitution and Liberation in Asia and the United States (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996) 6.
Meredeth Turshen and Briavel Holcomb, eds., Women's Lives and Public Policy: The International Experience (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 1993) 135.
Katharine H. S. Moon, Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S. - Korea Relations (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997) 28. |
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canuckistan
Mod Team
Joined: 17 Jun 2003
Location: Training future GS competitors.....
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| Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2004 7:02 pm Post subject: Re: More to it... |
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| pecan wrote: |
| canuckistan wrote: |
| What a lot of people don't know, Koreans included, is that so many orphanages here were started by the US military and are still supported by them. |
It is great what you are doing, though your history is a bit distorted.
Rightly, the U.S. military started the orphanages, as they were directly responsible for the orphans.
In the late 1950s the U.S. government and the Republic of Korea signed a Mutual Defense Treaty, which formally granted the stationing of U.S. troops in Korea with the stipulation that R&R sites would be provided for American GIs. These American troops are seen as the demand side of the prostitution equation and they induced a huge economic boom for Korea. Even in 1998 the use of Korean camptowns by U.S. soldiers was still occurring (Dongducheon is a prime example). Moreover, statistics show that the number of prostitutes dealing solely with the 36,000 U.S. soldiers still stationed in South Korea is more that 18,000. That equals to approximately one prostitute for every two soldiers. Presumably, society would see a problem with this continual victimization of women, however, it is apparent that where there are American soldiers there will also be government-funded and condoned brothels.
The creation of the Rest & Recreation sites, i.e., government-funded brothels, which have been in full-fledge use since the Korean War are an embarrassment.
| Quote: |
| "The Korean government stated that military comfort girls (prostitutes) should be able to serve 29 officers per day if the comfort girl is working at her maximum level. The government even dictated that intercourse should not exceed thirty minutes, otherwise, the prostitute may not be able to serve as many men." |
These women are known in Korea as kisaeng, which means "rented wife." The term rented wife proposes that the prostitute will act as a housekeeper for the soldier and then be forced to provide sexual services.
Many of these women are left with children of GIs (a.k.a., souvenir babies) and no economic support. Unfortunately, this practice merely perpetuates this endless cycle of prostitution. Many of their children (souvenir babies) become prostitutes themselves.
There is no justifiable reason for the United States government to provide funding and policies that condone and perpetuate sex tourism and military-base prostitution in U.S. occupied countries.
It is great to want to support these children. I just wish people would address the cause and the source of this problem in our society so we could stop it.
Nut
Rita Nakashima Brock and Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, Casting Stones: Prostitution and Liberation in Asia and the United States (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996) 6.
Meredeth Turshen and Briavel Holcomb, eds., Women's Lives and Public Policy: The International Experience (Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 1993) 135.
Katharine H. S. Moon, Sex Among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S. - Korea Relations (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997) 28. |
Of course! Orphans in Korea are all the Americans' fault  ...and no Korean or other nationalities of men partake in any prostitution here or anywhere else right? And the women who are in it are all hapless victims hey Tell that to the Dutch.
You should be complaining to the Korean gov't ( and others) to regulate prostitution and make it safer for all. That includes free birth/disease control.
The sex trade has been going on since the days of Babylon. How about if we really get to the "root" of the problem (ha ha!): we cut off all men's penises regardless of nationality; problem solved and no more female prostitution "victims"!!!! That sounds like a good femi-Nazi solution to female victimization by men doesn't it?
All establishments providing prostitution are officially off-limits to soldiers. They can't even buy out the "contracts" binding women to their employers to help them out of their situation or they'll get in trouble. I'm not saying there aren't any who disobey that rule, but that is the official military policy...very much the opposite of the organized military conspiracy against women in Korea you've intimated.
So what are you going to donate besides this useless spew?
If you think it's so terrible, put your money where your mouth is and buy something for a kid this Christmas. |
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