Save the Children -- Korea

I first became interested in Korea through sponsoring a Korean child through Save the Children. Contacts with SCF-Korea continued through my friend InSook Kim (an SCF staff person I met on my first visit in 1982 to see my sponsored child), even after the U.S. branch of SCF left Korea because the country became wealthy enough to no longer need outside sponsorship help. (Korean citizens are now sponsors for children in Mali and Nepal -- the circle continues.) I have edited reports written on behalf of SCF-Korea over the years and have continued to provide a little financial support for individual programs they operated, such as a special one in Mongolia.

International SCF is now celebrating its 90th anniversary. To participate in the event, SCF-Korea is preparing a report looking at its history, including when it had sponsors rather than serving as sponsors. The staff decided it would be good to include some actual case histories from the old days. With the report due in less than a month, here I was on their doorstep -- a bona fide sponsor from the past!

So on Tuesday I was given a delightful traditional Korean lunch while being interviewed by Mo-Youn Jin, Communications Officer. Her director, Hye-jeong Choi of the Resources Development Department, also attended. They both speak excellent English so it was fun for me hearing more about what SCF-Korea is doing as well as being given the opportunity to walk down memory lane and talk about Hong-Taek Choi and my sponsorship.

The picture was taken at the restaurant after we finished the many courses of the delicious lunch (I skipped the seafood soup course).