Starbucks Korea, ChildFund Korea launch history, culture program for children

Elementary school students from a community child care center view ancient ceramics at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. Courtesy of Starbucks Korea

Starbucks Korea and ChildFund Korea (also known in Korean as Green Umbrella) held the first outing for a new history and culture program on Aug. 18, taking about 30 elementary school students from a community child care center to the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, the coffee chain said Thursday.

Community childcare centers are welfare facilities supported by the Ministry of Health and Welfare that provide after-school care, emotional support and educational activities to children under 18. There are about 4,000 in operation nationwide.

The outing is the first activity under a program Starbucks announced last month, in which the company will donate 100 million won ($72,000) annually for three years to ChildFund Korea to give about 1,000 children a year the chance to visit historical and cultural sites.

Students from Pureunnarae Community Childcare Center studied the history of the museum's artifacts before visiting, then toured the exhibits by era, starting with the 10-story stone pagoda from Gyeongcheonsa Temple displayed in the museum's central hall.

"Hearing the explanations while looking at the actual artifacts made what I learned from textbooks feel more fun and interesting," one student said, according to the company.

The center's director said one child was so engaged that he wrote about the visit in his diary and quizzed his family on what he had learned.

Starbucks Korea and ChildFund Korea will recruit about 500 children through Aug. 27 for visits running through November, with another 500 to be recruited later in the year for the winter break. Community childcare centers can apply through their regional ChildFund Korea offices.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.