austraLasia #1860

Korea: new frontiers in youth ministry - Gang Won Support Counselling Centre

CHUN CHEON: 27th May 2007 -- Six months on from its formal opening by Fr Mazzali, Economer General at the time on Extraordinary Visitation to Korea, the Gang Won Support Counselling Centre is recognised throughout South Korea as in the vanguard of activity for troubled youth.  It is really much more than a simple counselling centre. It has emergency youth services with its own hotline operating 24/7, a community youth safety network, and province-wide services. Between them, these services are available to young people who are out of school, out of home and or involved in some form of addiction.
    A Salesian presence in Chun Cheon goes back to 1996, at the invitation of the Bishop.  Chun Cheon is some 120 kms from Seoul and very close to the border with the North. Now the Salesian community there takes care of a number of youth ministries in addition to the counselling centre:  a youth centre with 50,000 youth a year coming through its doors, a ministry to local juvenile reformatories, a group home for a small group of youngsters from broken families, NEST, a digital broadcasting station, and the diocesan youth ministry animation.
    The support and counselling centre is part of a government network of youth centres under the National Youth Commission which is directly dependent on the Prime Minister.  The Salesians were chosen to operate the Gang Won Province centre, with its capital Chun Cheon.  Another 15 of Koreas Provinces and main cities have centres which are part of the same network. The Salesians see this belonging to a national network as important also because they are able to spread the influence of Don Bosco's charism in terms of dealing with young people in difficulties. The advantage of being a hub for a large youth service network brings the Salesians and their lay mission partners in touch with many public schools, parents, medical services, social welfare services, youth outreach of other NGOs as well the coordination of the hot line for the Gang Won province with another 4 branches in main cities of the province.
    Bro Benedict Baek, the Centre Director, and until recently the Formator in charge of the Salesian Brothers specific formation course at Paranaque, Philippines, has two Salesians and 13 lay staff working with him. Within the whole Salesian community presence in the city, there are 7 confreres, 4 FMA Sisters and an active Salesian Cooperator Centre.  According to Bro Benedict, the top three issues for youth today in Korea are school violence, sexual abuse and internet addiction!
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This week there will almost certainly be an interruption to normal service.. I am 'on the road' again and without easy access to internet.  Should resume activity next Saturday.  But don't hesitate to send in news items.  In the meantime one or more pre-prepared items (thank you to contributors) should appear in ANS.