A fair trade seminar is to be held in Seoul on Friday. The event will discuss the concepts of “fair trade” and “ethical trade” in depth, as well as analyzing the global Fairtrade movement. The Fairtrade movement aims to help consumers shop for products that provide a better deal to global producers. Speakers from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and the Ko

Human rights activist Tim Peters was to give a talk on helping North Korean children on Thursday. The Nobel Peace Prize nominee was to give the talk “Breaking the Silence on Korea’s Forgotten Children” at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul from 12-1:30 p.m.Peters is the founder and managing director of Helping Hands Korea, a Christian mission which provides famine relief to the northeastern part of No

Less than 60 percent of families in South Korea now fit the model of a nuclear family, Statistics Korea research suggests. As a developed, democratic country, the country should embrace this difference, says Dr. Richard Boas of the Korean Unwed Mothers Support Network. “Confucian belief defines a family as a father, a mother and their children. Many believe a modern family consists of a married ma

An ’80s movie night is to be held to help an English professor battling cancer. The fund-raiser is being held to help Woosong University professor Mike McStay, who has been receiving cancer treatment in hospital. His friends have been organizing events to raise cash to contribute to his medical bills. The latest event is to be held at the Yellow Taxi bar in Daejon on June 11. Those coming to watch

Nationwide refurb program makes Korean afterschool centers sparkle againUntil this month, kids at Jun Jin-kyoung’s Ganghwado children’s center were always fighting over the bathroom. “There was no separate restroom for males and females. It could sometimes make conflict for the children as they grew up. They wanted the restroom separated,” said Jun, who is president of the care facility on the isl

More than 300 Citigroup Korea, Inc. employees have signed up for the company’s new volunteer group here. The new Citigroup Korea Volunteer Community Service was formed from an existing volunteer club being run by a group of philanthropic employees. The initiative has been formalized in a bid to engage more people at a company-wide level in Korea. Ha Yung-Ku, CEO of Citigroup Korea, Inc. congratula

A Seoul show is to offer performance art inspired by and about the Moon on June 12. The Encyclopedia Show-Seoul’s latest performance in Hongdae is set to entertain and educate on the earth’s satellite. Poets, musicians, performance artists and visual artists are to take to the stage during the lunar event to run from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Stereo bar. Tickets cost 10,000 won and are limited to 70. G

Volunteer teachers are being sought to help the HOPE project provide equal opportunities for children through English. The organization is seeking English teachers to work at around 20 volunteer learning centers throughout Seoul and surrounding cities to help underprivileged children who could not otherwise afford lessons. The group is also looking for donations of resources. It is looking for bas

Dog lovers in Daegu are invited to join a new dog walking club based in the city. The Korean Animal Protection Society has been holding monthly dog walks where animal lovers can give themselves and abandoned pets some exercise. Now, KAPS is setting up a more regular volunteer event to help the dogs kept at the KAPS Daegu Dog Shelter in Daemyoung.A previous Daegu dog walk organized by the Korean An

An Asia-Pacific conference is seeking speakers to pass on their volunteering experiences and knowledge. The 13th International Association for Volunteer Effort Asia-Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference (Korea) is to be held in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam Province.The conference titled “Volunteer Initiatives for a Sustainable Global Community: Climate Changes, Poverty, Conflict, and Natural Disasters”

Ulsan’s education office will hold a donation campaign, accepting anything from art supplies to cars, to provide more opportunities for its elementary, middle and high school students.According to the Ulsan Metropolitan Office of Education, they will be holding the “Ulsan Donation for Education Campaign,” at its Creative Experience Activity Support Center.The center will accept anything from music

The Kia Tigers and Kia Motors staff will hold the “Tigers Love Fund” donation program throughout the rest of the 2011 season to raise cash for people in developing countries.The program, in its second year, includes 14 players from the Kia Tigers and some 3,500 employees of Kia Motors, 600 more than the previous year.Third baseman and power hitter, Lee Bum-ho will donate 200,000 won ($185) per hom

A Korea-brewed beer is the latest among a raft of campaigns aiming to help the country’s endangered Asiatic black bears. A percentage of proceeds from the second batch of Moon Bear IPA to be released at a Seoul bar will go toward raising awareness of the plight of the bears, often called moon bears, which are farmed in Korea for their gall. The logo of Craftworks Taphouse and Bistro’s Moon Bear IP

Baristas with mental disabilities brew their way to a brighter futureIn Seoul, a cafe is always within walking distance, offering coffee lovers all kinds of specialties, themes, shapes and sizes, but for the most part the baristas are your average Joe.Sure there may be one or two barista champs or some coffee connoisseurs who brought back the world’s greatest beans from his recent trip to the Amaz

Korea’s first ukulele festival is to be held a special arts village in Gyeonggi-do this Saturday. The Tra-la Ukelele Festival is to run from 1-9 p.m. in Heyri Cultural Village, Paju. The village is a designated space for writers, artists, architects, and musicians to work and live. This weekend, more than 1,000 ukulele fans are expected to arrive at the village near the DMZ for the free event arra

A month-long campaign to save a closure-threatened Busan animal shelter is to continue with a beach fun day this weekend. The Busan Abandoned Pet Shelter is in danger of closing because the lease for its current premises is not being renewed. The shelter’s canine residents face the prospect of homelessness again if a new building is not found by August. Koreans and foreigners have helped keep the

A film exposing human rights abuses in Burma is to be screened near Seoul’s Insadong area. “The Prison Where I Live” is a feature-length documentary from Rex Bloomstein about Burmese comedian Maung Thura, better known as Zarganar. He has been persecuted by the Burmese junta, and is currently serving a 35-year jail term. Documentary-maker Bloomstein secretly traveled to Burma in 2009 to make the fi

A concert was to be held Thursday to raise funds for North Korean defectors. The concert was being held as part of a week of events to mark charity Justice for North Korea’s fourth anniversary. Funds raised at the events are to be sent to North Korean women and children living in China and other countries.Woo Yeo Hwang, President of the National Assembly Human Rights Forum and member of the GNP wa

An avid mountaineer and educational superintendent of South Gyeongsang Province has donated the proceeds from his mountaineering book to 18 local charities. The educational superintendent of South Gyeongsang Province gave millions of won in proceeds from his book, a climbing guide to mountains in the surrounding area, to local charities.Ko Yeong-jin donated 10 million won ($9,140) to nurseries, te

Crying NutPunk band Crying Nut is to feature on a charity album to raise money for Japan disaster relief efforts. Korea’s best-selling indie band of all-time is to record a cover-version of a Coldplay song for the album to be made at an international music festival in Singapore. The charity album is to be released worldwide and will feature some of the 40 artists from 18 countries performing at th