'My responsibility is to promote family values'
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Hubert Huh, center, head of the Korean chapter of United Families International (UFI), a U.S.-based pro-family organization, meets with Lee Jae-hern, left, 25, a Dongguk University student, and Kim Su-yeon, 20, an Ewha Womans University student, in Seoul, Oct. 21, before the two students left for the United States to attend the World Congress of Families (WCF). / Courtesy of UFI Korea
By Chung Hyun-chae
Hubert Huh, head of the Korean chapter of United Families International (UFI), a U.S.-based pro-family organization, said that Korea should promote family values in cooperation with the American non-government organization.
In Korea, the UFI embarked on a promotion to spread traditional family values by opening a chapter here, the first of its kind in Asia, in January.
“My responsibility is to promote traditional family values and to influence national pro-family policies and laws while being actively engaged in community activities and educating citizens,” Huh said.
“I am gathering email addresses of those who are interested in pro-family activities to send them weekly newsletters from the UFI. About 70 people are reading our newsletter so far,” he added.
Huh, who serves as project integrator of the K-C PMC, plans to step up collaboration with the government and other entities.
The K-C PMC is a joint venture of local construction company Kunwon and American engineering company CH2M HiLL that was established for the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) relocation project.
“I wrote an article in the UFI blog and contacted many prominent people who are willing to help the UFI movement,” Huh said. “I am also thinking of forming a climbing club or hosting a marathon for supporters.”
The UFI invited two Korean students for the first time to the ninth World Congress of Families (WCF) held Oct. 27 to 30 in Salt Lake City, Utah, along with more than 200 young representatives from about 40 countries.
The WCF is the largest gathering of pro-family advocates in the world. The congress invited like-minded young people throughout the world by providing them with scholarships to give them opportunities to hear famous speakers give lectures.
The UFI has been one of the major sponsors of the congress and this year’s congress was the first one to take place in the United States which attracted over 3,000 participants.
The two Korean students were Kim Su-yeon, 20, of Ewha Womans University, and Lee Jae-hern, 25, of Dongguk University.
Huh selected Kim and Lee based on their English proficiency and the values they place on family issues. He also received recommendations.
“It was a rewarding experience that enabled me to meet many people of different nationalities who have varied thoughts and opinions about family issues,” Lee said. “I was surprised that America culture is more focused on traditional family values than us because Korean people sometimes say family bonds may not be as strong as they once were, with Korean culture becoming more Westernized.”
He came to recognize this after talking with young American participants who put first priority on spending time with their families rather than working.
“I was also surprised that many of participants were from large families comprised of more than four members, which shows their social conditions where people can afford to raise many children,” Lee said, adding that Korea should learn from them.
During most of the four-day conference, the two students heard special lectures given by a number of public figures including Nick Vujicic, an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker born with phocomelia, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs.
“Vujicic’s lecture was so impressive that I could realize once more how important our family is by hearing his story,” Kim said. “He shared his story that he could overcome hardships with the help of his family.”
According to the students, most lectures were somehow religious considering that the organization pursues some conservative ideas.
Launched in 1978 in the U.S., the UFI defines and supports marriage as only between men and women and has been active in the pro-life movement.
“Although I don’t belong to any religion, the lectures were meaningful enough for us to look back on Korea’s family values,” Kim said.
The students acknowledged that it is impossible for Korea to go back to traditional family structures in today’s society. However, they stressed that we should try to spend more time with family members as well as grandparents who went through tough times to achieve economic and democratic development in the nation.