Chuseok 2017

Love Beyond the Orphanage was excited to host our first Chuseok Holiday party in Korea for individuals that are living independently.  We shared our stories, helped prepare traditional Korean Chuseok meal, and spent time together as a family.  We hoped we succeeded in creating a memorable event for everyone that was able to attend.  We had ten individuals from Incheon, Seoul, and Busan.

Below is a comment from one of the participants:

“Honestly, I didn’t expect much about Chuseok holiday. I just thought that they would ask me about my daily life. However, my mind totally changed after the Chuseok event.

We are a little different than others.  It’s hard to live as an orphan.

I hide myself to avoid people’s bias because It’s not easy to meet somebody who listens to my story without bias.

Therefore, sometimes I am lonely. That’s why the event was really shining. I could talk about my daily life without hiding anything while preparing traditional Korean food. Also we really opened up our hearts sitting in a circle. I really thank all the LBTO members for the event. Thank all of my friends for telling their story openly. Even though things won’t get much better, I got much comfort that there is someone who supports me.

By the time of the event almost ends, everyone felt affection and kinship. Even though we all have been through tough times, we also felt that we should go further instead of sitting down.

I hope this kind of event will be held continuously. I very much thank all the people who made the event.”