During one of our classes yesterday it became apparent that the lack of provision for those with Special Needs was not the only issue we would have to deal with in regards to behavioural problems or causes for disruption in our classes.
Special Needs children mainly carry on in regular school classes but drop off the register as they fail exams to get into High School - with no real specialist support (though in some cases a helper may be employed to assist them in school to a certain extent). This is due to the stigma attached to not succeeding in this country... a place which shamefully has the highest adolescent suicide rate in the world due to the pressure of exams and the need to be the best academically.
But today a new situation was flagged in our faces - Orphanages.
I had expected that such institutions would have existed here as there are orphans across the globe due to illness, low mortality rates, war etc. but I had not been prepared for the harsh and selfish nature of Korea in this respect.
It is not uncommon for a child to be placed into an orphanage if their parents get divorced! They just get rid of them!
Why? Because no one wants to get married to someone and be a parent of another blood line!
??? So they just divorce their own kids to look for a new partner? Yep!
We can't even imagine how this would affect the children involved - an eternal feeling of 'I'm not wanted'?
I know I'll not be able to change anything here in South Korea... and I know I'll have to hold my tongue on many things that will drive me mad while I am here... but even if I can't change it - I think that letting these children know (along with the other orphans) that they are the rice of Korea, the future of the country, that they more important than their parents is a must for me during the next 12 months and that I should go out of my way to make life better for them.
How can a parent ditch such a responsibility as a child just to copulate?
Rant over for now.
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