Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
Volunteer organization supports US soldiers in Korea
By Jun Ji-hye
Around 28,500 American soldiers are currently stationed in Korea. To support them during their time of active service here, a Korean volunteer organization is working hard to promote cultural and educational programs.
Members of the International Charity Foundation (ICF), founded in 1997, established themselves as private sector diplomats with the aim of helping to maintain friendly relations between Korea and the United States. “Our motto is MWR, which stands for Morale, Welfare and Recreation for American soldiers and their families,” said Lee Choon-kyung, ICF chairman.
“To fulfill our tasks, we mainly do cultural business such as holding charity concerts as well as conducting educational business such as teaching basic Korean language or how to cook Korean food.”
As part of efforts offering cultural opportunities, they hosted an opera gala concert on Sep. 7, featuring various vocalists, a pianist and a flautist, at Dragon Hill Lodge, a recreation center owned by the U.S Department of Defense and located in Yongsan Garrison in Seoul. “We invited not only the U.S. Department of Defense and their family members, but also civilian personnel. It was a free concert for all,” the 73-year-old chairman said.
The foundation plans to offer Korean food cooking classes soon. “It is going to be a program in which wives of ICF members teach how to cook Korean food to members of American Force’s Spouse Club (AFSC),” Lee said. “We have had ties with AFSC since we supported their volunteer work in nursing homes across Korea.”
They prepare to launch a “Survival Korea” program as well, scheduled to start at the beginning of next year. “It is like a survival game. We will give missions to American soldiers who participate in the program. These are all related to daily life in Korea, such as riding on the right bus or subway and drinking tea or alcohol politely,” Lee said.
“A person, who carries out these missions the best, will be selected as a winner and given prize money. We will give certificates to all participants.”
Another task that ICF cares about is sports activities. “We support sports equipment such as barbells any time we are requested to. We also plan ski tours by arranging coaches for those who have trouble using public transportation in Korea,” he said. “We carry out summer sports program as well.”
They are also planning to grant scholarships of $10,000 to two soldiers ($5,000 each) among members of the American military and KATUSAs (Korean army soldiers serving as language facilitators to the United States military.)
The chairman said they conduct these voluntary services in order to help prevent members of the American military getting into trouble while they live in Korea, and eventually to help maintain good bilateral relations between the two countries. “We are not a political organization. We are just a volunteer organization on the basis of culture and education,” he said.