Seoul YWCA News in October 2013

Department for Consumer & Environment

Livestock Processing Field Experience

On October 15 (Tuesday), the chairman and 40 other members of the customer ministry of environment went to Jincheon located in ChungBuk district and went to a chicken processing plant and PoongLim Food’s egg depository for field experience. They observed how eggs passed through visual exterior and interior inspection, automatic quality tests for any blood spots or discoloration to know how the grades of eggs were decided. Observing how the grading of eggs was done, they realized and confirmed the safety and excellence of domestic livestock products.

Department for Senior Citizens

Acting Club ‘Chok’ Community Service Performance

The acting club ‘Chok’ of the committee of elderly culture performed to 30 single elderly on the theme of ‘One fine day in October’ at Bongcheon community center on October 22^nd (Tuesday). Single elders who are prone to being alienated from culture enjoyed the performance and at the same time enjoyed their 70^th birthday party. The department of elderly culture is recruiting members for the senior play ‘Silver rising’ (inquire at 3705-6097).

Garak Social Welfare Center

Program for Injured Workers to Adapt to Society

At Garak community center complex from September 12 (Thursday) to October 1 (Tuesday), art therapy in the span of five rounds was conducted to help injured workers' social adaptation. Workers, who suffered because of industrial injuries, realized that they had feelings that they didn’t have before and spent time recovering and curing trying to understand others.

Gangnam Youth Center

Gangnam Exciting Saturday

Gangnam Youth Center on October 12 (Saturday) conducted a day of Saturday fun ‘Donong exchange- saltern field experience’ with 35 young adults. They tried to extract salt, make colored salt pillars, and make bay salt soap at Daeboodo Dongju saltern. Soaps that were personally made are expected to be given to the neglected people in our society.

Department for Youth 

ChinChin Sympathy Festival

400 Deshin Middle School students and the youth department conducted ‘POSCO-YWCA: My school is Chinchin wifi zone- chinchin sympathy festival’ on October 19^th (Saturday). On the theme of ‘making a healthy school culture’ they arranged a number of booths to enjoy post-it dream tree decoration, face-painting, basketball, dart game, and balloon pump. They also enjoyed experiencing 3 dreams (vision) barista, patisserie, and dance classes.

Bongcheon Social Welfare Center

Day of the Elderly Event

Bongcheon community complex arranged an event ‘happy invite’ on the day of the elderly (October 2^nd Wednesday). 100 elders who were present watched a video on the community center’s activities, enjoyed a folk and trot concert and also enjoyed the food that was prepared. They also left with many presents that they received from the lottery and left after enjoying their time at the event.

Seongdong Youth Center

Edu-plus

From this past May at Songdong youth center, edu-plus program was organized for 23 Songdong district’s low income middle school students. The edu-plus program offers personal guidance in the course of their studies and also offers guidance in the night through 1:1 mentoring. The program also invites art therapy experts, and offers fitness enhancing programs to help students experience diverse cultural experiences and taking care of students’ health.

Yeongdeungpo Women's Resources Center

Vocational Training ‘Chinese Instructor for Children’

At Yeongdeungpo women resources development center on October 2^nd (Wednesday), specialized vocational training ‘children Chinese instructor’ for women with career discontinuities was begun. For women with middle level Chinese conversation skills, the training program helped women with making lesson plans, and teaching aids. It also taught women Chinese characters, and helped them get field experience at kindergartens. Women also got the opportunity to become kindergarten, elementary after-school Chinese instructors. 

Going Back to a Young Girl with Literary Interests

Lifetime Member's Academy, Visit to Hwang Soon Won Memorial Hall 

Seoul Y is an institution with a driving force of 11500 members. Of these members, life members, those who are members until the end, currently make up 1300 members. The age of members varies greatly ranging from two year olds to members who are over eighty.

Life Member Academy started as ‘Life Member Elderly Academy’ in May 2004, composed of elderly, who compose the majority of life members, to offer them a sense of belonging and to offer them a variety of new activities. As more acquaintances and friends participated, the size of the academy has gotten larger and a more variety of members joined. It has therefore become ‘Life member academy’ in 2008.

Every month Life Member Academy organizes movie reviews, poetry readings, lectures by specialists on skin care, Latin dance and first aid programs, organizing activities that are hard to do alone. There is also a culture expedition activity held once every year.

Immersed in the literary world of Hwang Soon Won

This year on October 1^st for the cultural expedition tour, 22 members visited Hwang Soon Won’s literary hall ‘Sonagi’ (rain shower). Remembering Hwang Soon Won, who is known for his novel , I seemed to be going back to my high school years. The thrill of getting out of the country, and getting immersed in the literature of Hwang Soon Won brought about constant laughter of the bus ride and endless murmurs. Reaching Yang Pyeong after an hour long bus ride, the sky could not have been any more milder.

First, the member heard descriptions and explanations on Hwang Soon Won’s literary pieces for an hour. Getting absorbed in the literary work of Hwang Soon Won, members could not stop their laughter from the feeling of having gone back to being young girls with literary interests. There were also many works surrounding the literary hall making a trail. Every step felt as if writer Hwang Soon Won was right there narrating his own stories.

A Place for Communication

Life Member Academy president Jo Nam Hee (67) stated, “It has been already 7 years I have participated in these meetings. Every time I come I seem to forget my age. Despite the fact that everyone is not young, everyone seems to enjoy living young and I seem to absorb that energy. I also seem to gain confidence in learning as I read books and learn English. I hope to be able to spend more time with more members in the future”.

Life member Lee Myung Hee (76) who started as a life member chairman in 2003 looked back 10 years and stated, “Through Life Member Academy, I wished to make a place for communication. I feel that my time spent to be very worthwhile as I see members who say that their life has change through the academy, or those who come despite their discomfort.”

Every Monday on the last week of the month Life Member Academy awaits new members. This year they are organizing Latin dance and poem sketch. We hope many life members to participate.

Youth, Heart’s Passion

Bongcheon social complex center: Happy golden years lecture

At Seoul YWCA Bongcheon social complex center, a program for solitary elderly ‘Enjoying our golden years High Five’ was organized for Bongcheon district elderly hoping for a happy retirement.

The humanities lecture has been underway from September 13 through October 18^th every Friday for the fifth time. Retirement and fraud prevention measures, old age and leisure, valuable way to spend old age, happy retirement life coaching were some of the things that was being taught. By looking at the topic alone, it may seem like wisdom and knowledge from life, but it proved to be a meaningful time learning how to apply the wisdom and a chance to think seriously think about the issues that are inadvertently overlooked. The invited lecturer was also a retired elder that allowed the lecturer to sympathize and to identify better with the elderly who were present.

Gratifying emotional hunger

Despite just having eaten lunch on a drowsy afternoon in the sunshine, the elderly had twinkling eyes and asked many questions and answers. It seemed like they all were model students in their previous years.

Although the lecture starts at noon, everyone is already on their seats thirty minutes before. Not only do they remember all of the content discussed from the previous lectures but they are already curious about the upcoming lecture. Furthermore all twenty elderly are almost always present. These aspects showed me how great it would have been if I had known in advance of their inner longings.

Elderly life gains vitality

A participant Lee Cheol Ho (72) states “I have a deep resentment towards my youth for I have not been able to learn much. It was hard to make a living back then, how could I have gone to school. I learned Hangeul (Korean) late, but it is very worthwhile to come here to the lecture. I am jealous of our lecturer who has learned and can teach others. By coming here, it gives me an opportunity to think about how to live my later years”.

Another participant Lee Jung Hyun (74) showed much delight from learning and stated, “the poem ‘youth’ that we learned during lecture is the poem I remember the most. I was touched by the fact that it mentioned that even when our bodies grow old if one’s heart is filled with passion it is youth. After the lecture is over, I keep remembering the things we’ve learned so I keep looking at the printouts over again”.

 I send my support to those who attended the lecture hoping they can enjoy their golden years physically and mentally and can spend the rest of their lives valuably.

Seoul YWCA Bazaar 2013 "Happy Together"

Seoul YWCA Big Market Day ‘Happy Together’ was organized on October 17^th (Thursday) at the National YWCA of Korea's parking lot and Seoul YWCA. The bazaar is organized every year, but this year the market day has given 3,500 members the opportunity to spend a pleasant time buying thrifty goods displaying a variety of reliable goods and safe foods at friendly prices. This year’s market day was especially filled with foods that allowed Myeong Dong district workers to enjoy lunch under the autumn sunshine; there was also an EM open lecture that was organized between 11-2 pm. A nail art corner was also organized showing off meticulous care of married immigrant, further giving the opportunity for people to send time with multicultural women.