Seoul YWCA's China Study Club

Absorbed in Chinese History

"There are three women; Song, Ae-ryung who loved money, Song, Gyung-ryung who loved China and Song, Mi-ryung who loved power. Which woman's life attracts you?"

The audiences, in the middle of the lecture about Chinese modern history, were questioned this interesting question above. It was asked in order for them to freely imagine with the question asked about Song sisters that cannot be missed to talk about the turbulent Chinese history at the beginning of the 20C.

Since the last fall in 2010, Seoul YWCA started a China-studying group with some experts of Chinese history for people to have a chance of learning China properly with various angles that has been described as an ‘emerging economic powerhouse’. In this year, 2011, it has been focused on studying in Chinese modern history and Social problems. HyunSa, Kang, who is in charge of the Chinese modern history part of the lecture and is a senior researcher of Asiatic Research Institute of Korea University, was quite impressed by the students being so eager for study more than the students who took his classes at university.

Although That China has more than 1.3 billion population and extensive domain overwhelms most of people over the world, it always brings negative reputation and prejudice for China and Chinese that, in the past, some products made in China have been poor in quality and that people tend to think that Chinese might have low sense of citizenship. As the study group was on its second semester, we were getting to realize that we cannot just underestimate Chinese history. Moreover, we had sympathy for Chinese having gone through such a hard time under the communist. 

In the movie called ‘Life’ that we watched together in the class to help us understand Chinese modern history better, the main character said to his grandson that a chick becomes a chicken, a chicken becomes a goose, a goose becomes a sheep, a sheep becomes a cow and when a cow grown up, you become a full human-being.” This is the aspects of Chinese who never give up hopes, even though they lost their children and live with endless poverty.

This group is originally designed to grow up our perspectives on China without any prejudices and stereotypes. In terms of this, it is expecting how far this group would develop in good ways.

Company Culture Campaign for Work-Life Balance

Congratulations! We Support 90 Days of Maternity Leave!

Around Yeo-ui-do station at May 4 Tuesday morning. It was crowded with people since there were about 11 organizations including Seoul YWCA for a start of the Company Culture Campaign for Work-Life Balance.

Here is the simple reason why these 11 organizations were gathered. Working women get stressed by discriminations in their company due to pregnancy and childbirth. Now is the time to think about these problems together and guarantee their confident social participation through improving public awareness on Work-Life Balance. Furthermore, they are going to spread social attitude that society have to share their responsible to child-care.

After the ceremony they marched to the Yeo-ui-do station and park with signs. They distributed leaflets to office workers and did a survey weather they know about the maternity leave before and after child birth. Many people participate to the survey and most of them know what the maternity leave is, but they seemed to have little understanding about it. In the question “Can you use your maternity leave without any worries?”, most of them answered ‘No.’ One of the office worker who participated to the survey cheered them up, saying "I can fully understand the meaning of this campaign because it is linked directly to my and my wife's lives."

If you have a co-worker, a junior or a boss who is pregnant, celebrate them with your heart. How they are treated can be your future or your child’s future. A small change in the company’s culture and hearty celebration can change our future.

First, let’s start with the maternity leave. Using 90 days of vacation without minding others, I hope we can go to the society that respects both women’s right of work and men’s child care.


 

 

 

 

*The Campaign band consisted of 11 groups; Seoul YWCA, Young Women's Christian Association of Korea, Korea Women Workers Association, Korean Women’s Trade Union, Korean Women’s Association United, National Members of Women, Woman Labor Law Support Center, Korea YMCA, Woman Resources Development Center, Seoul Women Workers Association.

Refrigerator Corps "Filling with Love, Reliving the loneliness"

Actress Kim, Hyeung-ja and voice actor, Bae, Han-seung have been appointed as patrons of Refrigerator corps from Seoul YWCA. The appointment ceremony , which was held in the Seoul YWCA's auditorium on April 14th, proceeded while the president of Seoul YWCA Lee ,Yean-bae with the members of board of directors and 480 helpers from the Department of Woman Development were participating.

Refrigerator corps is a kind of voluntary service gatherings which belongs to the Department of Woman Development. Since they began to concern the fact that it is not easy for elders who live alone to keep their own refrigerators clean, this corps decided to help those elders as paying them a visit. They had a welcoming ceremony on October 14th, 2010, after then, the number of workers in the corp has kept increasing from 15 to 30 so far. They have worked together with Guro Senior Welfare Center since Guro is the area home alone-elders reside most. each group of two or three workers have paid regular visit to their assigned 14 elders.


"Voluntary Service is too big word compared to what I actually do here. I only do what I can do. " remarked Yoon, Hee-yeong, a member of the corps who had worked even in the penetrating cold weather. like her, most members of the corps have been glad to be a part of this service. Refrigerator corps will keep up with good work now and for ever.