New exhibition to raise awareness about criminals' children

By Kim Se-jeong

A calligraphy exhibition is scheduled to open Friday at Seoul City Hall, with the aim to raise awareness about the tough lives of the children of convicted criminals.

The three-day exhibition will feature 10 child artists and 50 adults who won a contest for the exhibition.

“People talk about people in prison, but hardly talk about their children and what they go through,” said Lee Kyung-rim, the director of Seum, an NGO which is organizing the exhibition. “It’s important to remind people these children have the right to healthy and happy lives, despite the disgrace attached to their parents. And we’re hoping to spread this message through the exhibition.”

She said many of these children suffer from poverty, mainly because they’re being raised by one parent, and have depression. Prejudice against them is rampant and crime rates among them are quite high, she added.

Lee said the estimated number of such children is between 50,000 and 60,000. “There’s no official figure, which indicates no one cares about them,” she said adding that government assistance is urgent for them.

She is currently working with the National Human Rights Commission on a study of these children’s behavior, which will be the first official work about them. The results of the study will be out in October.

The exhibition will end with a concert for the children at City Hall, Monday evening. For more information, visit

https://www.facebook.com/childseum

.