I set out in the hope that I would be able to meet a student who needed a helping hand. It is a village in the mountains of Gangwon-do, 4 hours away from Seoul. I thought that I would have to run on a narrow and winding dirt road. However, the narrow dirt road did not appear even after getting out of the highway and going along the national road for a long time. Rather, there were small shops with modern signs on both sides of the newly paved road.

As soon as I entered the alley, I could find an elementary school. The playground was clean and tidy with no footprints. On the other side of the playground, the middle aged man in boots was arranging the flower garden leisurely in the warm sunlight. We entered the small one-story school building, but I did not see anyone. The wooden floor in the hallway was well polished to shine, and a large kettle was boiling over the sink in the middle of the hallway. It was such a peaceful scene.

After I shouted “Is there anyboby?” three times, a female teacher opened the door and came out. It was very quiet because on Friday all 9 students were gathered ub ib classroom, drawing a picture. In the classrooms, various electronic products such as stand air conditioners were well stocked. The toilet bowls were squeaky clean and tidy. Compared to the elementary schools in any big city, it seemed that there was nothing lacking.

I told her that I had come to personally find students who are intelligent and passionate about their studies, but in need of financial help due to a difficult family economic environment. "The government provides even pencils and pencil lead, so there is no need for monetary help. She said, “These days, I get a lot of emails from various charitable foundations which are willing to support field trips.” In other words, the helping hand is already sufficient enough so that they have no intension to apply for any help from those foundations.

When asked if there were any schools with poor conditions in the nearby mountain areas, she said, it is the same no matter where I go. There was a second-year male student that caught my eye. He is often said to be angry and cry for no reason. He lives with his aunt, he takes care of her aunt's disabled daughter when his aunt leaves for work. He didn't even eat breakfast and wore dirty clothes. Things got better his other uncle recently married a Vietnamese woman.

There is no need for financial help. What they need was someone who change the family environment and can provide constant counseling. Three teachers who have studied at the College of Education for four years are taking care of only nine students until 6 PM. It seemed difficult to expect a better educational environment than this.

It's the feeling of charity which makes you feel rewarded when you see other people feel happy and hopeful after being helped. While working as a scholarship student selection member for a small foundation for the past three years, I have tried my best to find vulnerable students who are in the blind spot through various channels such as incumbent teachers, study rooms, provincial government offices, and vocational high schools and etc. However, I was urged to make a decision quickly because there are many other scholarship foundations waiting. I even felt sorry for a small amount of our scholarship compared to the large amount scholarship from big foundations. The level of welfare that our society demands was already beyond my understanding.

We will turn our eyes to countries that are economically difficult. We need to find students who can not attend school due to their dire financial situation. I imagine a brightly smiling face of students who go to school due to our scholarship. Someday, there will be students who grow up to be lamps that can revive dreams and hopes in the community. Wouldn't it be remembered that the Republic of Korea reached out a helping hand across its borders? This will be a shortcut for Korea to become the center of the world.

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February 1, 2012
Chairwoman Sung Eun Kim