The Korea Herald

Building a library for Burmese refugees

English books of all kinds are being collected to stock a library for Burmese refugees. The non-profit organization Book for Dream is collecting both textbooks and works of fiction to fill their third library to serve refugees on the Thailand-Burma border.Book for Dream says that more than half of t

Aug. 10, 2011

Teaching Korean students to dream big

Korean students from top U.S. and Canadian universities have helped less fortunate young people here reach for their dreams this summer. The newly established Teach for Korea has offered free tutoring and mentoring to economically disadvantaged students from four Seoul schools. Graduates and s

Aug. 10, 2011

Free hugs and roses from Seoul Giving Club

A band of about 30 friends gathered in Hongdae children’s park on Saturday evening, ruminating over their home-made plinko machine. The giant cardboard version of the fairground game was to be the centerpiece of Seoul Giving Club’s latest pay-it-forward adventure, but the funnel for the ball-drop wa

Aug. 10, 2011

Free hugs and roses from Seoul Giving Club

Returning to help Korean kids through KKOOM

U.S. lawyer follows her heart back to Korea to help orphansIt all started when Aimee Jachym returned to South Korea for a year-long volunteer program, having left her country of birth at just four months old. Her year out soon turned into a vocation as the Korean-American adoptee founded the Korean

Aug. 10, 2011

Returning to help Korean kids through KKOOM

Samsung aids Zambia with health screenings

A South Korean medical center has donated an ultrasound machine to an African hospital. Samsung Medical Center donated the equipment to a hospital in Zambia as part of a larger health scheme it is sponsoring. The Samsung employee volunteer program has seen the Kafue District Hospital launch medical

Aug. 3, 2011

Asan animal shelter trip this weekend

A trip to an animal shelter in Asan is to be held on Saturday. Volunteers will meet at the Cheonan-Asan KTX train station at 11 a.m. before getting taxis together to the shelter.Visitors will then play with and walk animals at the shelter during the visit to last until around 5 p.m.Participants are

Aug. 3, 2011

Expats help out in Yongsan this month

A Seoul global village center is to hold its regular visit to Yongsan Center for the Disabled on Friday Aug. 12. Volunteers can help center users make simple crafts at the event organized by the Itaewon-Hannam Global Village Center to run from 2-4:30 p.m. The items they make are then sold to local s

Aug. 3, 2011

Cooking up a better future in Seoul

Four women with mental disabilities have been hired into the baking industry after being trained at Seoul City’s Misericord’s House of Annunciation’s Convent. The women in their 20s could not write their names when they started programs there 10 year ago, but have now learned pastry-making skills an

Aug. 3, 2011

Concert to boost N.K. youth education

A concert is being held this month to raise awareness and funds to help North Korean kids striving to fit in the South’s education system. The Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights and the Beautiful Mind Charity will co-host the 5th Annual Beautiful Dream Concert on Aug. 27. About 1,700 N

Aug. 3, 2011

Move over sauerkraut ― kimchi hits Germany for Berlin show

Two ethnic Koreans have raised more than $1,500 to bring a taste of kimchi to the German capital.Kate Hers and Hanjo Rhee are inviting people to barter for the spicy Korean side dish at an art installation in a Berlin bar during November, the time when people here traditionally make the food. They a

Aug. 3, 2011

Move over sauerkraut ― kimchi hits Germany for Berlin show

Biking to fund North Korean bakeries

Two English teachers were set to complete an epic charity cycle through South Korea on Thursday. Cristina Yim and James Foster have biked through floods and torrential rain to raise money for North Korean children. The English teachers were set to finish their near 1,000 kilometer charity cycle in a

Aug. 3, 2011

Raising hopes for Wes’ return home

Friends show support for American teacher injured in traffic accidentFriends and family on both sides of the Pacific are rallying to help an American man who was almost killed when a taxi ran him over in Korea.Wes Putman was in a coma for three months after a speeding taxi hit him near Gangnam Expre

Aug. 3, 2011

Asian youths quizzed on activism

A network promoting human rights across Asia is asking young people to fill out an online survey. The Asia Pacific Youth Network wants people in Korea and other countries in the region to answer questions on youth activism by Aug. 12. Every 100th respondent will also be given a small prize. In just three years, the group has grown from 20 youth activists to a network which has taken almost 30,000

July 28, 2011

Social enterprise training and lecture

A U.K. expert is to coach Korean students on social enterprise next week. Social entrepreneur Clifford Southcombe is to visit Seoul from Aug. 1-4 to train students taking part in Social Venture Competition Asia.A founder of his country’s social enterprise movement, Southcombe will also give a lecture at Sookmyung Women’s University on Monday. Southcombe managed one of the U.K.’s first successful c

July 28, 2011

Day to help homeless people in Busan

Helpers prepare food for homeless people at a previous Busan event. (Kwon Ki-Jai)An event to help homeless people in Busan is being held on Saturday. Expats with Busan ATEK Volunteer group are set to help out Korean volunteers at the event to run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Busanjin Station yard. Those taking part will spend four hours giving out free meals to homeless people at the station. For

July 28, 2011

Internet freedom forum to be held in Seoul

A forum on Korea’s Internet freedom is to be held in Seoul on Saturday, Aug. 6. The Asia Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association has organized the forum, which is in part sponsored by TNM Media, blog Nanoomi.net and Platoon Kunsthalle. The event to be held from 12―3 p.m. at Platoon Kunsthalle in Gangnam will examine Northeast Asia’s changing media landscape.A panel discussion will ex

July 28, 2011

Internet freedom forum to be held in Seoul

Summer camp to help kids go native

Volunteers and donors are being sought to give kids a taste of native English teaching in South Jeolla Province. The 2nd Annual HOPE Summer English Camp is to take 10 skilled ESL teachers to a rural elementary school in Suncheon. Organizers said the camp would give students at Haeryong Elementary School a rare chance to interact with foreigners. “Although Gyeonggi Provincal Office of Education ha

July 28, 2011

Teacher makes marathon effort to help fight cancer

A native English teacher in Korea is set to run a marathon to raise money to fight cancer. Nick Scherf, who teaches at the Hanyang Oregon Language Institute in Seoul, is to run in honor of his parents who both suffered from the disease.Scherf, 25, has been planning the 42-kilometer run since his father died of esophageal cancer in March 2008. His mother, Sandra, was diagnosed with breast cancer ju

July 28, 2011

Teacher makes marathon effort to help fight cancer

Dying wish for U.S. bill to aid refugees

Han lobbying for laws to allow American families to adopt N.K. orphansHis hard-won adoption by an American professor transformed Han Sang-man’s destiny from that of a North Korean street boy to a successful U.S. businessman with the means to help other refugees.His adoptive father, Arthur Schneider, took the orphaned Han under his wing while serving here in the aftermath of the Korean War. Schneid

July 28, 2011

Dying wish for U.S. bill to aid refugees

Brief: Making kindness contagious in Seoul

Making kindness contagious in SeoulA group of benevolent strangers is seeking donations for a pay-it-forward project in Korea. Seoul Giving Club is to hold a giveaway next month. Organizers are inviting people to make financial donations to the club’s biggest pay-it-forward event to date. The movement aims to spread goodwill by performing small acts of kindness and encouraging the recipients to do

July 21, 2011