 Ura's Dream is a children's book written by John Walker, chairman of the Macquarie Group of Companies Korea. |
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia A light-hearted story about a young moon bear and his magpie and eagle friends may be the last thing you would think John Walker, chairman of the Macquarie Group of Companies in Korea, would write about.
But Walker has published not one but two children’s books about the Korean moon bear and it’s all for charity.
The idea to write a children’s book about a moon bear came to Walker a few years ago in the middle of the global financial crisis.
``When things are in crisis, your mind turns to the really important things in life. So I was sitting in the plane and thinking, `things are really tough, but it’s important not to forget the things that really count like life, kids, nature, relationships, friendships and that kind of stuff,’” he told The Korea Times, at his office in downtown Seoul, last week.
His wife Gina Moon has always been interested in animal welfare and environmental issues, particularly, moon bears.
She is the founder of moonbears.org, a campaign to save Korea’s moon bears, which are being farmed and hunted for their gall bladders to be used in Oriental medicine.
Because of his wife’s campaign, Walker decided to publish a book about Korean moon bears, ``Ura’s World’’ (in English and Korean versions) in May 2009.
The 5,000 copies of ``Ura’s World’’ are almost sold out, and all the proceeds have been donated to environmental and animal welfare charities in Korea such as Green Korea, Korean Mountain Preservation League and Animals Asia.
With its culture of generosity, the Macquarie Foundation matches the amount of donations made by Walker to these charities, which effectively doubles the donations.
The second book ``Ura’s Dream’’ was released earlier this month. It is published in English, but includes Korean translations to help children who are learning the two languages, and currently being sold at major bookstores and online shops.
Proceeds from the sale of the second book will also be given to various environmental and animal welfare charities.
Through the books, Walker aims to gently educate children about the importance of respecting nature and animals.
``During a book reading at a Korean international school in Hong Kong, one boy asked me, `But don’t we eat bears?’ I said, `do you think we should eat Ura?’ Then he says, `no, yuck!’ I think children are now being educated as part of the future generation. It’s better to educate them now, so when they become adults, they would remember Ura singing and dancing,’’ Walker said.
The book follows the adventures of Ura (the name is taken from the Asian black bear’s scientific name Ursus thibetanus) and his friends, a magpie Gaachi and a bespectacled old eagle Doc Suri, in the Korean mountains.
It was inspired by the Dangun legend about a tiger and bear that prayed that they may become human. The bear was transformed into a woman and gave birth to Dangun Wanggeom, the founder of the first Korean kingdom.
``Bears and tigers characterize Korean people. Tigers are very funny, aggressive and outgoing. Bears are very strong, solid and considerate. These are two sides of Koreans... I try to think about the characters from the point of view of the readers,’’ said the Macquarie Korea chairman, who has been living in Korea for 10 years.
Telling stories comes naturally to Walker, who as the eldest child grew up babysitting his younger siblings and making up stories to keep them entertained. Writing is also in his blood, since his grandfather wrote children’s poetry, while his father has authored books.
``I told stories in a way that came naturally to me. But writing one down is more difficult, particularly (stories) for children. So I wanted to make it a picture story book. It was quite a challenge balancing the pictures and the words,’’ he said.
The two books’ beautiful illustrations, which were done by his niece Sohn Hee-jung, evoke traditional Korean paintings and legends.
Walker hopes the Ura books would make people more aware about the plight of these endangered animals in Korea. He is already planning to write two more books about Ura.
``This is a much more interesting way of donating by handing over money to a foundation because there is a message here about the bears and the environment... Generating awareness is more important than raising money. It can also promote Korean tourism. This is more rewarding for me, and much more effective,’’ he said.
Although giving to charity is still not as widespread among Koreans, Walker said Koreans in general are quite generous.
``Part of the issue is there is a shortage of organizations that provide an avenue for their generosity. Koreans have a very generous spirit,’’ he said.
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