A Catholic priest awarded the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights has met with Korean schoolkids to talk about his message of spreading “true democracy” in Korean society.Father Mun Jeong-hyeon, who became the first Korean to be awarded the human rights prize on Friday, met with 34 high school students to take part in Korea’s first PeaceJam program. The international PeaceJam Foundation is a peace education and youth leadership training organization of 12 Nobel Peace Laureates, including the Dalai La

An animal charity is calling for prosecutions under Korea’s new animal protection law following a spate of highly publicized animal abuse cases. The Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth group is calling on Korea’s Director of Animal Welfare Seo Kyo-Young to take charge on recent cases including dogs being dragged by cars, beaten with metal pipes and axes, and even burned alive.The charity is asking people to sign a petition demanding maximum punishment for animal abuse, as well as writing to Se

A Korean green schools initiative is set to teach Indonesian kids how to better protect their environment. Student-led environmental group Daejayon signed a pact Wednesday with the education department of the Indonesian capital of Jakarta to form a green schools network across the two countries.   Daejayon, which means “great nature” in Korean and has 2,100 members, has been running various campaigns including the Green Schools Initiative in Korea. University student volunteers have been helping

Expats and Koreans have joined to run a marathon to support children battling cancer. More than 40 members of the MANNAM International Running Club, or MIRC took part in the Marathon for Child Cancer on May 6, with all proceeds collected from the event being donated to assist children at Seoul Samsung Hospital and Severance Hospital.The event started in Jamwon in Seoul and was hosted by Seoul Citizen Marathon Competition to Help Cancer Children. The run to support child cancer patients was the f

A second CLASH music event in Seoul aims to unite Korean and expat communities for charity once again.“CLASH ― Two worlds collide for the greater good” was created with the purpose of bringing together not only two different communities, but also two different musical styles. The second edition of the event is being held to provide support to the Nabi (Butterfly) Fund. Created by victims of Japanese military sexual slavery Kim Bok-dong and Gil Won-ok in coordination with the Korean Council for t

An animal charity is to take volunteers to help out at an animal shelter this Saturday. Those attending the shelter trip organized by the Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth will meet at 10:30 a.m. at Gangbyeon Subway Station Exit 4. The group will then make the hour-and-a-half bus journey together to the shelter. There are about 250 dogs and about 50 cats being cared for at the facility in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. Visitors will help clean, care for and walk the pets before returning to Seo

About 3,000 people enjoyed a Big Fairtrade Breakfast in Seoul this weekend, in a bid to promote fairer prices for food producers in developing countries. The diners enjoyed food at the Gwanggyo gallery by the Cheonggyecheon on May 12, after about 70,000 people visited the Fairtrade picture exhibition which ran from May 7-13. It is the third year that the breakfast event has been held in Korea, as part of the international celebrations of World Fairtrade Day, held on the second Saturday of May ea

Japanese teacher Takamori Takuya is worried about his country’s students, as well as about South Korean kids.“In the last seven years the suicide rate of children in Japan has been steadily increasing,” said Takamori, who founded Japanese children’s NGO Futokoro to help tackle the problem.“The reason the crime rate and suicide rate is so high is because these students don’t value the meaning of life.” According to Japan’s National Police Agency, there were 30,651 deaths from suicide in the coun

Crown Princess Mary talks about social inclusion on trip to SeoulShe has supported projects to combat prejudice in her own country, and now the Danish Crown Princess has visited unwed mothers and their children in Seoul. Princess Mary took time out of her hectic schedule to visit members of the Korean Unwed Mothers and Family Association during the state visit with her husband Crown Prince Frederik from May 10-15. Mary and Frederik have four young children of their own, and the princess has long

A Seoul storytelling event is to raise cash to help migrant workers. The Axis Seoul group is hosting a night true stories, with all proceeds going to support a new program providing medical care for foreign workers here. The initiative is being run in association with the Soonchunhyang University Hospital International Clinic. All stories will be told live on the theme of “Outrageous Fortune” at the event being held at Pier 8 bar near Itaewon’s Cheil BuildingPrevious Axis events have raised cash

Activist Park No-hae aims to spread peace throughout the worldOn a recent trip to Pakistan, poet and photographer Park No-hae met a young man who had been shot near the troubled Afghan border.Wondering why a foreigner would be traveling through the conflict-ridden region, the wounded Pakistani local asked him: “Aren’t you afraid of death in this battlefield?” And now, Park has answered with a poem: “I am afraid of dying when I am in love, but I am afraid of living without love. Love is more powe