Traveler Building Libraries for Children on World’s Edge
By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter
Traveler Kim Hyung-wook, 32, does not have a regular job. Nor does he have his own house. He has no specific plans on marriage and has no intent to settle in one place for the ordinary life led by most of his friends.
Instead of pursuing a higher salary and other mundane goals, he has engaged himself with a self-imposed mission: building small libraries for needy children in Nepal, India and other poor nations.
He has already built three tiny libraries at schools in India and Nepal.
"They don't need big, fancy libraries. I just put some bookshelves in the corner of schools and fill them with books for children," Kim said in an interview with The Korea Times. "What they need is books. It's far better to get them more books than spend money on building libraries."
Kim aims to build 1,000 libraries in villages stricken by poverty across the world.
"I set the goal high because if I set it at 100 I may end up building just 100, but if I set it higher, I will be able to build more," he said.
Kim came down with the idea of building libraries in June 2008 when he and four other colleagues were attempting to climb Meru Peak in the Himalayas.
Attracted to the sincerity and candor of a porter who was risking his life for a daily income of less than 5,000 won, Kim became curious about his life.
When he asked the porter what his dream was, he wished that his children could get a better education so that they can have a better life. But with his negligible monthly income, he couldn't even afford to buy a book for his children.
Kim promised the porter to bring them books. After days of discussions, Kim and his fellow climbers went to New Delhi and bought about 150 books.
It took days to deliver the books weighing about 80 kilograms to the village from the Indian capital. When they arrived at the village along with two donkeys carrying the trunks full of books, they received a teary, earnest welcome from the villagers.
Kim has travelled to Iran, Yemen, Laos and a lot of countries and found that what concerns most of the residents in poor countries is how to educate their children.
"Travelling was my dream and I met a lot of people in many poor villages. Though the children there look hopeless, they always welcomed me and made my travels richer and more fulfilling," he said. "What they need is not cheap sympathy but opportunities in education and literacy."
Kim has been holding small concerts along with his friends and photo exhibitions to raise funds and collect books.
He donated 200 books collected from a concert to Sarangkot, Nepal last April. He also set up a third library with 600 books and toys at a mountainous Nepal village in October.
As a means to publicize his project to build libraries, he recently published a collection of essays and photos, "Songgeute Daeun Sesang," or World Edge (Gloseum Books Co.).
He plans to use the income from the sale of the books to build libraries.
His dream of building 1,000 libraries may sound unrealistic. But he is optimistic as there are a growing number of sponsors and donors.
Last week, Kim received as many as 4,500 books in English from Tong Yang Moolsan, an agriculture machinery maker, which also imports books from overseas.
Tong Yang's executive director, Choi Yong-gon, said the company decided to donate unsold books worth about 100 million won to help Kim's project.
"I met him in my office and I was really touched by the young man who was spending his own money to build libraries for poor children around the world," Choi said. "We plan to donate more books selected from unsold stocks going forward."
Kim believes that the less he owns, the freer he can be. He is not employed and he sleeps at his sister's or friends' homes. He says he occasionally contributes to the media for income. Asked whether he is worried about his own future, he said, "I have decided not to think about that for now as I have more important things to do."
Kim said on his Web site (www.worldedge.kr) that:"The most important thing in life is not how you're born, but how you live."
He says poor children deserve greater attention and concern since we are living in the same world.
Kim has been holding exhibitions of photos he has taken in Nepal and other countries in Paju, Gyeonggi Province to collect books and toys.
"We can offer them educational opportunities by buying them books and letting them hold pencils. I hope to bring like-minded people together, and do something to help these children."