ONLINE STOCK QUOTES!
Auto
Up North Archives
Neighbors Archives
Tempo Archives
LINKS
|
|
Web posted on Wednesday, July 22, 1998
|
|
Your "Hometown" on the Internet
|
Sarah Borden, 16, Annandale, practices a Korean fan dance at Kamp Kimchee, a Korean culture camp held each year for Korean adopted children. Borden, whose Korean name is Chang Insun Yung, was adopted from a Korean Orphanage when she was 9- years-old. In June, she and her family made a special trip back to Korea where she was able to meet her biological grandparents.
(Dispatch Photos by Jodie Tweed)
Camp Kimchee give adopted children a taste of Korea
By JODIE TWEED
Staff Writer
BAXTER, MN
For the more than 10,000 adopted Korean children in Minnesota, Korea may seem like an unfamiliar yet intriguing place.
While Baxter is thousands of miles away from Korea, over 180 adopted Korean children from as far away as Wisconsin and Michigan spent last week here, enjoying Korean food, dances and exploring a language they have either forgotten or never learned.
Jake Janish, 13, Coon Rapids uses chop sticks to eat lunch at Kamp Kimchee held at Baxter Elementary School last week.
Kamp Kimchee, a Korean culture camp held at Baxter Elementary School last week, is in its 17th year of providing adopted Korean children with a glimpse into what life is like in Korea. Parents and other volunteers, many of whom are also Korean-Americans, run the day camp, which is open to adopted Korean children and their siblings from 3-year-olds up to 11th graders.
Campers take classes in Korean arts and crafts, language, culture, music, dance and Tae Kwon Do. At the camp store called Buk-Dae-Mun Shijang, or North Gate Market, campers and their parents can purchase authentic Korean goods, including the most important of all camping supplies, Korean soda, gum and candy. Children's books specifically written for adopted Korean children were also for sale.
Deme Donovan, 10, Brainerd, tries out a toy made of streamers he made during arts and crafts at Kamp Kimchee at Baxter Elementary School last week.
One book by Brian Boyd titled, "When You Were Born in Korea," included photographs taken inside a Korean orphanage that included photos of two campers, Sarah Borden and Kim Larson.
Borden, now 16, was 9 years old when she was adopted by her parents, Rick and Sue Borden, Annandale. In June, she and her family traveled back to South Korea with a tour group where she met her biological grandparents. While she said she has forgotten a lot of Korean, she acts as a translator for the younger, recently adopted children at Kamp Kimchee who speak little English.
Heidi Hansson, of Brainerd and a senior at St. Olaf College, spent an afternoon at Kamp Kimchee last week. She will be teaching in Korea this year and wanted to learn more about the culture and language.
"This is an appreciation of their birth country," said Kamp Kimchee executive director Kathi Hefti, of Baxter, whose teen-age daughter, Janessa, attended camp. "We're not aiming for mastery."
"It's great, it's fun, we can go wild," said bubbly Jenna Kuiken, 6, Aitkin, who said her favorite activity at Kamp Kimchee was Tae Kwon Do.
When asked where she was from the 6-year-old replied, "I'm from Korea and I'm also from Aitkin, and I'm American."
Jenna Kuiken (left), 6, Aitkin, helps Petra Hagberg, 7, Virginia, see through the eyeholes of her tiger mask she made at Kamp Kimchee.
About 50 children attended Kamp Kimchee its first year. This is the sixth year that camp has been held at Baxter Elementary School. Kamp Kimchee is named after a popular spicy Korean dish made of cabbage.
More Neighbors
What do you think about our site or articles?
What would you like to see us do?
Let us know with this form.or a quick E-mail note!
Your Websmythes for this section: Slammer, WildFlower, Akimbo, Tech Girl and sometimes Y and W!
Classifieds News Sports Weather Tech News Business
Specials Up North Neighbors Tempo Personal Connections
©Copyright The Brainerd Daily Dispatch
506 James Street, P.O. Box 974, Brainerd, Minnesota, U.S.A. 56401
The Brainerd Daily Dispatch, Central Minnesota's Daily Newspaper. Continuing The Weekly Dispatch founded in 1881. Published daily except six legal holidays in Brainerd, Minnesota by The BraInerd Daily Dispatch, a division of Stauffer Communications, Inc. , a wholly owned subsiduary of Morris Communications, Corp. The official newspaper of Crow Wing County. Offices located at 506 James Street, Brainerd, MN 56401. MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.
|
This page produced on a Macintosh Quadra 800 or Power Mac 8600/200 (what a screamer!) running Mac OS 7.5.3 or Mac OS 7.6.1 and some or all of the following software: HTML Web Weaver 2.5.2, Graphic Converter, Adobe Photoshop 4.0, Netscape 3.0, Miocrosoft Internet Explorer 3.0, QuarkExpress 3.3.3, Multi-Ad Creator 3.7.1, Baseview NewsEdi 1.1.2, pots of straight black java and plenty of sleepless nights. We Love It!