Korea/Far East
For nearly half a century, the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill have been working with and ministering to the people of the Republic of South Korea. Four Sisters of Charity traveled by freighter in 1960 to Korea to begin learning the culture and language. Two years later they were teaching and administering at the St. Joseph School for Girls in Kwang-ju.
Today, 205 Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill serve in the Korean Province and in 11 dioceses there. Several American sisters are members of the Korean Province, but the majority of its members are native Korean women. Each year, at least one American Sister of Charity volunteers to serve in Korea teaching English as a second language to both sisters and students.
Our ministries in the Korean Province are varied and include a school for children who are blind, another school for children with physical disabilities, and a bakery that teaches vocational skills to young adults with physical disabilities.
In 1997, two Korean Sisters of Charity began serving in the Republic of China, establishing a pre-school for children who are developmentally challenged or autistic. Because of the success of theses sisters and the school, the Congregation expanded its vision to include China as a field of apostolic endeavor through an enactment passed during the 2002 General Chapter. Thirty children between the ages of three and eight are enrolled in this school. Typically, these children would have been hidden at home.
This pre-school is located in Yanji, and industrial city with great poverty in the northeast section of China that borders North Korea. The city of Yanji rests between two cultures and languages, those being Korean and Chinese.
We continue to explore ministry opportunities to serve person who are physically and developmentally challenged in the Republic of China. These ministry opportunities might include training Chinese people to care for people with these disabilities or assisting in organizing community groups to develop a better service approach.
We also assist in providing funds to educate young Chinese religious who are still in their formation years. Because of the long period of suppression of religious practice in China, there are few religious sisters, brothers, and priests who can serve as formators for the young Chinese now entering religious life. Our Korean sisters are hoping to bridge the gap, but funds are needed for materials and theological course work.