The Diplomat
On the occasion of International Book Day (23 April) and Children’s Day in Korea (5 May), the director of the Centro Cultural Coreano and first secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Jaekwang Shin, accompanied by staff from the Centre, visited the La Paz University Hospital yesterday to deliver books to children admitted to different paediatric sections.
The morning began in the Hospital Classroom with a presentation by staff from the Korean Cultural Centre, wearing traditional Korean dress, Hanbok. Here, children from the surgery and ward admissions areas were able to see models of Korean dishes and learn about the most important aspects of Korean cuisine. They then received two sets of children’s books translated into Spanish and with a theme that deals with self-esteem, self-improvement and problem management: Cuando estés preocupado, by Sang-Keun Kim, from Editorial Pastel de Luna, and Caracol, by Minu Kim, from Editorial Juventud, which were also added to the hospital’s library. Along with this selection of books, each child received a bookmark with his or her name written in Korean.
Present at the event were members of the staff of the Hospital Universitario La Paz, Javier Cobas, deputy managing director of the Hospital Universitario La Paz; Esther Rey, medical director; Herminia Ramos, deputy director of nursing; Begoña de Miguel, deputy of the emergency department, and Jacinta Muñoz, supervisor of the Child Care Area, together with the director of the Centro Cultural Coreano, Jaekwang Shin, who pointed out the Centre’s commitment to the most vulnerable sectors of society and the importance and necessity of being able to carry out entertainment activities that help hospitalised children on a date that is a bank holiday in Korea, Children’s Day, a very marked festivity dedicated to respect and love for children that has been maintained to this day. As Shin said, in Korea it is a tradition on this day to enjoy the family by making leisure plans. For his part, Javier Cobas thanked the Cultural Centre for bringing the tradition of this country closer to the hospitalised children and for jointly celebrating two memorable days such as Book Day in Spain and Children’s Day in Korea.
