- Headline: "Bringing Love and Rainbow Dreams to Korea’s Children After Jung Hwan “Sopa” Bang"
- Source: Dong-A Ilbo
- Date of Publication: May 5, 1972
- Summary:
The first to plant the vibrant, rainbow-colored dreams of hope in the hearts of Korea’s neglected children - those abandoned both by their families and by society - were the members of Saekdonghoe (Saekdong Society) led by Jung Hwan “Sopa” Bang. Traveling across the country, they breathed love and life into the parched spirits of the nation’s youth. Among their members was Musoe Chang, a humble carpenter with little formal education, who saved every penny to build a children's center at the former site of Changgyeong Elementary School in Yŏn’gŏn-dong, Jongno District, Seoul. He also founded the Myŏngjinŏrinihoe (Myŏngjin Children's Society).* In the aftermath of the Korean War, the U.S. branch of the Save the Children Fund (S.C.F.) stepped in, providing scholarships to more than 10,000 children over a span of three years. During the January 4th Retreat, U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Dean Hess heroically arranged the evacuation of 900 orphans aboard 17 planes to Jeju Island—a selfless act that earned him the Sopa Bang Jung Hwan Award. Efforts to improve the lives of Korea’s children continued through the work of the Korean Christian Adoption Program (CAPOK), which placed over 200 children from unwed mothers and struggling families into adoptive homes. Meanwhile, Lady Bangja Yi focused on disabled children, offering vocational training through the King Yeongchin memorial society since 1968. With “warm hands of love” extending to Korea’s most unfortunate children, step by step, the foundation for a brighter, stronger future is being steadily built. * Myŏngjinŏrinihoe (Myŏngjin Children's Society) is misprinted as “Yŏngjinŏrinihoe” (Youngjin Children’s Society) in this article. In the 1970s, the practice of categorizing children born to unwed mothers as "unfortunate," separating them from their mothers, and placing them for adoption in unfamiliar households was framed as a continuation of the child welfare ethos inspired by Sopa Bang Jung Hwan, who sought to "plant rainbow-colored dreams" in the lives of children.
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