The Cross-Cultural, Trans-atlantic, Trans-pacific social work education of Paivi Lee, Weekend College Senior

Korean Social Welfare Education

Seoul National University, Seoul South Korea

"Social welfare is a discipline promoting social development, social justice and the social functioning of all individuals on the basis of humanistic philosophy. The aim of social welfare is to prevent and resolve social problems in a modern society."

Two fields of study Social welfare includes two fields of study: social policy and social service.

Social Policy is concerned with social policies and social welfare institutions ensuring a better quality of life. This field of study is interested in social insurance policies, public assistance policies, labor market and unemployment policies, and welfare state regimes.

Social service deals with developing professional counseling skills and social service programs for people needing social support. Some of the topics covered in this field are child abuse, family destruction, disabilities, battered women, homelessness, youth at risk, etc.

The strength and uniqueness of social welfare study lies in its practical use. It deals with actual social problems that our society is facing. As the world is increasingly complex, so might be the challenges to social welfare efforts. Social welfare study keeps encouraging new and creative approaches, responding actively to the changing environment.

History of social welfare in Korea Social welfare was introduced in Korea after the Korean War. As a result of colonial years and the Korean War, many people had been suffered from poverty, which required social welfare system. In addition, the rapid industrialization of Korea since 1960s reinforced the need for social welfare. In line with this demand of social welfare, the department of social work was founded in several universities, adopting the school of social work in the United States. Seoul national university also established a graduate program of social work in 1958, and an undergraduate program in 1959.

About the Eastern Social Welfare Society

excerpt from:
Eastern Social Welfare Society website
This does not constitute an endorsement for the agency or its services

PHILOSOPHY

Eastern Social Welfare Society was founded in 1972 by Dr. Duk Whang Kim, a lifelong Christian and an elder of a church. For t wenty-eight years, ESWS has helped needy children find families, provides places and education for the disabled children and strives to make children's dreams come true t hrough sponsorship. Thus, the purpose of our agency is to make a contribution to our society by providing various welfare services to the less fortunate.

The Paivi Lee Interview
special for BSW Frontpage

So, Paivi, with the whole world to choose from, why Korea? I have always been interested in different languages and I had no knowledge of any Asian languages. I always wondered about the writing systems and grammar and in general how these languages were put together. When I started to practice Taekwondo there years ago, I fell in love with this Martial art. To be able to fully understand the art, I felt that I needed to learn more about the culture from which it originates. This led me to the University of Minnesota Asian Language and Culture Department where I began my Korean language studies almost three years ago. I became so interested in Korean culture, its people and customs that I began to think of ways to visit and study in Korea. I got my first opportunity in the summer of 2005, when I enrolled in the intensive Korean language program at the Seoul National University. I went to Korea with three of my children for month and a half that summer, and again in the following summer of 2006. I have fallen in love with Korea, it's culture, language and people.

What is your interest specifically in social work, social welfare there? The Korean culture is so different from any western culture: I became interested in finding out how they take care of their elders, orphans, the homeless and others who have fallen on hard times. I began planning a trip to Korea to research these issues over there, on site. The opportunity for such a trip presented itself in January of 2007 and I got to travel to Korea for the third time. I wanted to do my own research on the social welfare issues. I contacted some of my friends and began inquiring about the social welfare agencies in Korea. I was able to make an appointment with a Director of the Eastern Social Welfare Society, Inc. She was very nice to me and spent an entire morning with me at the agency, taking me to different departments and answering my many questions about the cultural differences. For example, because the family ties and connections are very strong in Korean culture the way they care for their elders is very different than in the western cultures. That was one of the things I wanted to find out more about. Also, orphans and unwed mothers issues intrigued me. Family violence is very interesting to me and I also wanted to find out how they handle those types of issues.

What did you find out about the "cultural aspects" of their service systems? One big difference as I already mentioned is the way they care for their elders. The respect for elders in general in Korean culture is much more important than it is in our culture.The families generally take care of the elders. Usually it is the obligation of the eldest son to make sure the parents are taken care of financially and otherwise. This is a custom that has been passed on for hundreds of years. The eldest son takes this responsibility very seriously. The Korean language has different words you must use when speaking to your elders to show respect. There are some seniors who do not have any family members who can take care of them. Those individuals in Korea have assisted living housing and nursing homes. When I asked how many of these types of housing facilities there are in Seoul (Seoul has a population of about 12 million) the director said they have a few, but not too many. I did not get the exact number of these facilities. The crime rate is very low in Korea. They have no drug crime and it is very safe to move around the city at all hours of the day. My children took the city bus to their school by themselves, went to the stores and restaurants and to their various activities by themselves. That is very different from American culture. The Eastern Social Welfare Society, Inc. has a housing facility for unwed pregnant mothers. I was not allowed to visit this department because there is so much shame attached to this issue (the women who are pregnant and unmarried are ashamed). I found that very different from our culture. I also got to visit an adoption agency where they had babies from one day to three weeks old. What a wonderful place that was!!! I wanted to take some of the babies home with me. Most of the young babies are adopted internationally, however, domestic adoption is getting more popular in Korea as well especially after one very famous movie star adopted a son. Adoption has not been looked upon very positively in Korea in the past, thus the large number international adoptions.

Did you feel competent enough to talk about these different issues? When I am in the new situation and learning new things my approach is to just listen. It is amazing how much I have learned by simply listening. So many things that I have already talked about (and many more), are very, very different from our society. One could almost be shocked at some of the things that I have heard, but I was not. I simply accepted that the culture is different and that things are done differently. I embrace and admire the differences. I never presume that one way of doing things is better than the other, it is simply different. I have had this approach in all aspects in life since I moved to USA from Europe many years ago. When you accept differences as such, the competence is not even an issue. If you do not understand something it is not embarrassing to say so. People from other cultures like the honesty and they are so eager to explain why they do things the way they do. I loved talking about the different issues. I learned so much by doing that.

Do I see Korea as a life long interest? I hope so. I am so passionate about this fascinating country and its language, people and all it has to offer, that I hope to be able to continue to learn more about it. I have made many wonderful friends in Korea who treat me like a part of their family. I feel so fortunate to be able to have this in my life and to be exposed to a totally different culture by the native people who have accepted me as one of them. I do not take this opportunity and this learning for granted. It is truly a gift that I treasure.