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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, February 19, 2003

Seoul YMCA sends 17 kids here

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer

In swimming shorts and goggles, a group of young boys shoveled sand into plastic buckets. Another pair splashed water at each other, screaming and laughing in a lagoon at Ko Olina Resort yesterday afternoon.

They dove underwater, built sand castles, basked in the sunshine.

It was nothing they had ever experienced before.

The 17 shirtless boys were from the Seoul YMCA, visiting Hawai'i for the first time on a goodwill program with the Leeward YMCA in Waipahu.

Part of a South Korean youth soccer league, the boys, ages 6 through 12, will spend five days on O'ahu, staying with host families in an effort to learn more about American — and local — culture.

"One of the objectives was to promote good will (between the two countries)," said Richard Bautista, program director at the Leeward YMCA, who helped organize the activities. "We want the children to appreciate diversity."

The Leeward YMCA considers the $3,700 it spent on the program an investment toward building a strong relationship between the two clubs. Administrators hope the program will become an exchange with the Seoul YMCA that also will allow Hawai'i kids to experience another culture.

Kenneth Imai, program director at the Seoul YMCA and trip coordinator, wanted the children to gain a global perspective, learn about the United States firsthand, and appreciate differences between the two countries.

"Most of them have never seen an ocean before," said Imai, who was born and raised in Wai'anae before moving to South Korea almost three years ago. "This is the first time they're feeling sand and salt water."

What moved the project forward was a rise in anti-American sentiment in South Korea as people protest the United States' threat to go to war with Iraq.

"That's one of the reasons why I put this together," Imai said. "There's a noticeable amount of anti-U.S. sentiment right now. I want to show the kids that Americans are not all militaristic."

The goodwill trip coincides with the Seoul YMCA's 100th anniversary and the centennial of Korean immigration to Hawai'i.

Already, the boys have experienced cultural differences: They arrived at the Leeward YMCA yesterday to more than 60 smiling, multiethnic children armed with ginger lei. They had Happy Meals at McDonald's, drinking fruit punch for the first time.

"The kids are very excited," said Park Kyung-Ho, executive director of athletics at the Seoul YMCA. "It's very fun."

The boys from Seoul will compete in a goodwill game against an AYSO team from Kapolei at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Kapolei District Park before heading back to South Korea.

In the meantime, both YMCA staffs have prepared a fun-filled, educational itinerary, including visits to the Honolulu Zoo, Sea Life Park and Waikiki.

That sure beats the 30-degree temperatures back in Seoul.

"The sunshine is very strong," Park said with a smile. "It is so very hot. But good."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.