People to People Fetes 37 Years of Volunteer Service
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
International volunteer group People to People International (PTPII) Korea headquarters held its 37th International Friendship Night at the Lotte Hotel Friday.
The event was aimed at having all its members work on developing friendships with multi-cultural families, the United Nations Command and foreign expats in Korea. Also among issues discussed was abolishing subliminal racism from the Korean society.
At an opening ceremony, Chairman Kim Seung-nam awarded the Cheonan Royal Chapter members for forging ties with their counterparts in Ulan Bator, Mongolia's capital city. The Pyeongtaek chapter head Kim Ki-taek was given a citation for deepening friendship with the U.S. Army at its K-55 and K-6 bases. Sookmyung Women’s University and a Myongji University student were also cited for their outstanding volunteering services.
Among more than 500 participants were Lt. Gen. Joseph Fil, commander of the Eighth U.S. Army in Seoul; Victor Zikas, head of the PTPI Asia-Pacific division; lawmakers Kim Hyo-seuk of the Democratic Party and Lee Kyeong-jae of the governing Grand National Party; and many more.
The PTPII was established in 1956 by former U.S. President Eisenhower to promote international hospitality and friendship.
Since its Korean branch was established 37 years ago, the PTPI Korea headquarters has 35 adult chapters and 27 student chapters nationwide, with more than 3,000 members actively taking part in various volunteering programs. Chairman Kim aims to continuously increase the number of chapters and members.
This year alone, he is seeking to raise the number to over 40. ``I plan to raise the number of chapters by 10 annually, with an aim to increase it to 100 by 2015,'' he said. ``Our main mission is to develop and support programs for cultural and educational exchanges with foreign workers, multicultural families and American soldiers here.''
On top of attracting more college students and young people to its organization, Kim said he has put greater emphasis on encouraging business leaders, doctors, lawyers and other opinion leaders to join the group.
``I'm forming a core advisory group comprised of dozens of opinion leaders as a way to make a sort of steering panel for our operations,'' Kim said.
PTPI Korea will draw up and carry out measures to support multicultural families who are becoming critical members of Korean society.