- Title: SOUTH KOREA: CHILDREN ARE VICTIMS OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS
- Date: 13th October 1998
- Summary: ANYANG, SOUTH KOREA (RECENT) (RTV) 1. SCU THREE-YEAR-OLD LEE HAN-SOL'S REUNION WITH HER MUM - LEE SUN-HWA AT ANYANG BABY'S HOME IN ANYANG, SOUTH OF SEOUL (2 SHOTS) 0.24 2. SLV EXTERIOR ANYANG BABY'S HOME 0.29 3. HAS SMALL BOYS RIDING TRICYCLES ON THE ROOFTOP OF ANYANG BABY'S HOME 0.45 4. MV BOYS RIDING TRICYCLES 0.50 5. SCU DIRECTOR SIM YANG-KEUM AT ANYANG BABY'S HOME SAYING "SINCE THE IMF ECONOMIC CRISIS, MANY PARENTS HAVE BROUGHT CHILDREN HERE. THEY THANKED ME AND ASKED ME TO CARE FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND TOLD ME THEY WOULD RETURN TO TAKE THE CHILDREN BACK." (KOREAN) 1.00 6. SCU SMALL BOYS POSING FOR CAMERA 1.08 7. SLV GIRLS WITH NURSE 1.14 8. SCU SIX-YEAR-OLD PARK CHUNG-EUN SAYING "MY DADDY BROUGHT ME HERE." (KOREAN) 1.20 9. SCU SIX-YEAR-OLD NAM HYE-JI SAYING "MY MUM LEFT ME AND MY LITTLE BROTHER HERE. MUM TOLD ME TO WAIT HERE UNTIL SHE MAKES MONEY." (KOREAN) 1.37 10. SLV LINE OF COTS WITH SLEEPING BABIES / SCU BABIES ASLEEP (3 SHOTS) 1.55 11. MV SMALL BOYS ENTERING DINING ROOM 2.01 12. MV SMALL GIRLS ENTERING DINING ROOM 2.07 13. SCU CHILDREN PRAYING AT DINNER TABLE 2.20 14. SLV CHILDREN HAVING SWEET POTATOES AND MILK 2.26 15. SCU PRAK CHUNG-EUN EATING POTATO 2.32 16. SCU NAM HYE-JI (LEFT) EATING POTATO 2.38 17. SCU COUNSELOR YOO BOK-SOON, 33, SAYING "I RECEIVE COUNTLESS PHONE CALLS FOR COUNSELLING EVERYDAY AND I ALSO HAVE SEVEN OR EIGHT VISITORS EVERYDAY." (KOREAN) 2.46 18. SLV GIRLS HAVING CLASS 2.52 19. SCU TEACHER AND NAM HYE-JI 2.58 20. SCU PARK CHUNG-EUN 3.04 21. SCU TODDLERS SHOWING TOYS 3.13 22. SCU LITTLE BOY CRYING 3.22 23. SCU GIRL CRYING 3.29 24. CU ZOOM OUT SIX-YEAR-OLD CHO JIN-YOUNG SITTING ALONE ON TRICYLCE 3.42 25. MV BOY PLAYING WITH CHO JIN-YOUNG 3.48 SEOUL (RECENT) (RTV) 26. SLV HOMELESS PEOPLE AT SOSOMUN PARK IN SEOUL 3.54 27. MV FAMILY HAVING MEALS ON THE GRASS 4.00 28. SCU (BACK OF HEAD) MAN SAYING "WITH THE ECONOMIC CRISIS, THEY CUT DOWN PAYMENTS AND LAID OFF WORKERS. I WAS WORKING ON CONSTRUCTION SITES AND IN RESTAURANTS, BUT I GOT LAID OFF." (KOREAN) 4.16 29. SCU BOY AND GIRL HAVING MEALS 4.21 ANYANG (RECENT) (RTV) 30. MV ZOOM IN LEE SUN-HWA, HOLDING HER DAUGHTER LEE HAN-SOL, LEAVING ANYANG BABY'S HOME AND GETTING INTO TAXI. 4.34 31. SLV TAXI, CARRYING MUM AND DAUGHTER, LEAVING. 4.40 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 27th October 1998 12:00
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- Location: SEOUL AND ANYANG, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: South Korea
- Reuters ID: LVA8YYF1KSZOHGUUYK02UNVY5ZCJ
- Story Text:South Korean children are becoming the latest victims
of the country's economic crisis.
Many of them have ended up in government-run agencies,
either abandoned or temporarily given up by parents no longer
able to afford the cost of raising children.
Three-year-old Lee Han-sol is one of the lucky ones.
At least her mother can now afford to take her back.
She showed no emotion though, as her mother arrived at the
Anyang Baby's Home for the second time this year to take back
her child.She leaves her because she can no longer afford to
bring her up.
Han-sol first came to this temporary shelter last May,
after her father lost his job due to the economic crisis in
South Korea.
Within three months, the toddler's mother returned to take
her child home, but little Lee Han-sol was found wandering the
streets two days later, and was returned to the government
shelter.
At first glance, the Anyang Baby's Home resembles any
normal child care centre, with 85 children playing happily
within its modest grounds.
But the underlying truth is that many of these children
may never return to their own home - having been abandoned by
parents who could no longer afford the costs of raising
children.
Sim Yang-keum meets all of the anxious parents who come to
Anyang Baby's Home.
"Since the economic crisis, many parents have brought
their children here.They thank me and ask me to care for
their children and promise they would come back eventually to
take their children home."
But the figures tell a different story.The number of
children of jobless parents at welfare institutes has rapidly
increased.
Six-year-old Park Chung-eun was brought here in June."I
came here with my daddy," said she.According to the
institute, her father has since found a job.
Six-year-old Nam Hye-ji, who came to the shelter about 10
days ago, seems to understand the predicament her family is
facing.
"I came here with my grandmother, mother and little
brother.Mom left me and my brother here.Mom said she would
be back after making money," she said.
Fourteen employees and two volunteers are taking care of
85 children, babies and teenagers, at the Anyang Baby's Home
and the demand for extra places is strong.
"Our phones are constantly ringing.I've got countless
phone calls everyday," said counsellor Yoo Bok-soon.
According to Yoo, most infants settle into their new
surroundings within a week, but the transition is far more
difficult for many older children.
Health and Welfare Ministry has given the instructions to
welfare institutes nationwide to care for children of
unemployed people, free of charge, if necessary.
The South Korean Government supports nine temporary
shelters and 272 orphanages nationwide.
Temporary shelters receive children after holding serious
talks with the child's protectors, mostly their parents.
Children should only remain in these shelters for a period
of two to six months, where they receive medical attention,
before being transferred to an orphanage.
The family has long been the backbone of the Confucious
Korean society, but it is cracking under the financial crisis.
About two million South Koreans have lost their jobs since
the 58.35 billion U.S.dollar IMF bailout programme went into
effect in December 1997.Since then, the number of homeless
people in the capital Seoul has increased sharply with
unemployment surging from 2.5 percent to over 7 percent in the
past 10 months.
The bailout might be helping the country's economy but the
statistics hide the plight of the victims of the recovery
programme.Seoul's railway station has become a magnet for
workers out of a job.
"With the economic crisis, they cut down payments and
reduced the number of employees.I was working at construction
sites and restaurants but I got laid off," said one man who
has made the railway station his home.
At least the children have a bed at night.
As Han-sol is bundled into the waiting taxi, her mother
assures institute staff that she will not be coming back.
But chances of that happening are slim.Until the economic
crisis is resolved, the future of children like Han-sol
remains uncertain. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS - SOURCE TO BE VERIFIED
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