Int'l women's club gives Koreans window to world

Four Seoul International Women’s Association (SIWA) members pose in Gwanghwamoon in Seoul on Oct. 6 after an interview. From left are Ann Choe, SIWA president; Terri Hartman, former president of the group; Lee Bock-hee, vice president; and Karin Stangeland, hospitality chair. / Korea Times

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Since it was officially launched in 1962 as a multicultural group that aims to foster friendship among its members, the Seoul International Women’s Association (SIWA) has been sowing the seeds of change in Korea.

In the 1980s, when few Koreans traveled abroad, its iconic annual bazaar sold ethnic food and cultural items to raise funds for orphans, elderly citizens, single mothers and talented people who are unable to finance their studies, some of whom gave back to the society after graduating.

But perhaps, more importantly, the bazaar provided a window to the world for the people in the largely homogeneous country.

Marie-Helene Brasseur, a Belgian nurse-turned-doctor who has helped underprivileged people in the shanty city of Siheung get access to medical treatment, is one of the SIWA scholarship recipients who became an agent of change.

SIWA members sell souvenirs and cultural items at the SIWA annual bazaar in 2010. / Korea Times

Brasseur came to Korea in 1972 as a nurse and a member of the Catholic organization Association Fraternelle Internationale. In 1975, she and a couple of Korean social workers founded the Junjinsang Clinic in the city to provide free basic medical services to the poor.

The late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan (1922-2009) helped them set up the clinic, the name of which means “the wholehearted serving of the people with true love and joy.”

While working as a nurse in the clinic, Brasseur realized the limitations of her medical expertise in meeting all the medical needs of the poor patients suffering from a range of diseases and symptoms. She decided to go to medical school here, but financial constraints stood in the way.

SIWA gave a helping hand by assisting her with the tuition fees. Brasseur graduated from Chung-Ang University College of Medicine in 1985, thanks to the group. To date, the clinic has helped more than 400,000 people.

In addition, because of Brasseur’s ties with the SIWA, the multicultural group spearheaded a fundraiser for a much-needed medical machine for the clinic in 2012.

A variety of cultural items are displayed at the bazaar. / Korea Times

Terri Hartman, former president of SIWA, said the group partnered with other international associations based in Korea to purchase the 40 million won ($40,000) machine. “It was too expensive for one organization to purchase, so all international groups together fundraised to buy it,” she said.

SIWA is a unique organization in that foreign women in Korea team up with local women to help needy people in the country. Hartman, who has been in Seoul for six years, said it is common for people to organize groups based on their nationality, such as the American club or British club, but it is rare for local and foreign people to create a group together. Quoting a former SIWA member who now lives in Singapore, Hartman said there is no group similar to SIWA in the Southeast Asian country.

Karin Stangeland, hospitality chair of the group, agreed, saying there is probably no organization like SIWA in other countries. Before she came to Seoul in January, the Norwegian lived in Brazil.

Today, SIWA has 500 members from 35 countries. About a quarter of them are Koreans.

Founding mothers

Moon Sun-ok, a longtime member of the group, said SIWA has been expanding since the 47 “founding mothers” came up with the idea of creating a meeting place for international women based in Seoul in 1956.

“At that time, Korea was very different from what it is today,” she said. “The number of foreigners here was much smaller than it is now. The group was created only three years after the end of the Korean War and, naturally, this country was very poor. There were lots of epidemics and even thieves, which means living conditions here at that time were pretty bad. Imagine how tough it would have been for foreign women to live in this country.”

According to Moon, several Korean women, such as Helen Kim (1899-1970) and Maria Park (1906-1960), who had studied in the United States, helped those lonely international women to organize the group, then dubbed the Sojourners’ Club.

Kim was an educator, activist and journalist. Park was the wife of Lee Ki-poong, who served as vice president and National Assembly speaker.

The wives of high-ranking Korean officials, mainly Cabinet ministers, also joined the group.

In the early years, the women worked with missionaries based in Korea to help orphans and elderly citizens. Soon, they felt the need to change the name of the organization to make it more inclusive.

Since they launched SIWA in 1962 as an official meeting place for international women in Korea, the group has expanded activities and membership.

Ann Choe, the current SIWA president, said its membership has been changing over the years.

“We have a lot of moms,” she said. “There is a lot of different energy.”

In 1978, the group began hosting the annual fundraising event, the SIWA and Diplomatic Community Bazaar, to showcase ethnic cuisine and products and help the poor with the proceeds. Then, women from 10 countries ran the bazaar. Today, the bazaar is one of the largest international fundraising events in Korea.

The charity event raises more than $100,000 every year. Last year, it drew more than 5,000 Koreans.

Moon said the bazaar provides Koreans with a glimpse of foreign culture and items that are not found in Korea.

“In the 1980s, few Koreans traveled overseas because of the restriction on foreign travel,” she said. At that time, Koreans needed to get approval from the government before they traveled overseas.

“Naturally, not many Koreans experienced foreign culture and cuisine,” she said. “But they were able to find exotic products and other items at the SIWA bazaar, which made the event very popular.”

Hartman said people would line up outside the building where the bazaar took place to browse or buy those exotic items.

“Many years ago, the bazaar was quite unique because, for example, it was the only place in Korea where you could get French cheese,” she said. “Historically, the bazaar was a very unique place to get things once a year.”

Lee Bock-hee, SIWA vice president, said the group played a role in increasing Koreans’ understanding of foreign culture, and vice versa, through its diverse cultural activities and tours.

Because of its nature as a group for international women who are here for work or other purposes for a definite period, continuity has emerged as an issue. Foreign members come and go, and without proper measures their activities and contributions are easily forgotten.

Choe said the group plans to digitize pictures, documents and other items from its activities and events to create an archive.

“This is something that we wanted to do,” she said.

“When I became the president, I talked about the significance of having an archive. Every organization that I know has archives. This is a volunteer organization and a very transient organization. People are here and then leave. That’s why we are trying to create an archive.”

The group also plans to create a history page on its website.