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Scores of Korean-American children in the Capital District were able to celebrate the Lunar New Year in traditional style on Valentine's Day, thanks to the efforts of a member of Holy Family Korean Catholic Church in Colonie.

"Hanboks," the indigenous clothing of South Korea which is worn during special festivals, are difficult to come by in this area. Several months ago, Sung Ja Kim made a plea to her sister, who teaches at an elementary school in South Korea, to ask parents to donate the outfits that their children have outgrown.

No one anticipated the generous response - nor the suspense as the local community wondered whether they would turn up in time for the big parish-wide celebration.

They were relieved when the four large boxes arrived earlier this month after an eight-week transit by boat. Inside, the parishioners found 140 hanboks of unexpected quality. Each was carefully folded and wrapped.

Jisung Park, part of a team of volunteers who helped to unpack the shipment, remarked that there were "many of silk with decorations and fine stitching and embroidery."

However, not one hanbok had a size label, so it took the volunteers many hours to measure each one, mark it and sort it to make it easier for families to find the appropriate size for their children.

An adoptive couple from Schodack was among the beneficiaries. Carol Morley and James Utermark have two Korean-American children: Cullen, who's 13, and Maeve, age nine.

Ms. Morley told The Evangelist that she is especially grateful to the people of Holy Family parish, who demonstrated such an outpouring of care and hospitality for the adoptive families.

Ms. Morley helped sort the hanboks and selected one for her daughter. A parishioner who owns a dry-cleaning business insisted on taking the outfit and returned it to Ms. Morley a few days later freshly laundered and pressed.

On an earlier occasion, a parishioner had invited Ms. Morley to her home to give her a personalized lesson in the preparation of kimchee, a seasoned, pickled vegetable Korean dish. It's an important staple in the Korean diet, served at almost every meal; in fact, the Korean government declared kimchee to be a national treasure.

Adoptive outreach
Holy Family Korean Catholic Church also offers semi-monthly classes for adoptive families in Korean and its alphabet, hangul. Ms. Park, a doctoral student in the School of Social Welfare at The University at Albany, volunteers as the language instructor.

Although she sacrifices many hours of her time to this activity, she said she receives much in return from the families who attend.

"I do appreciate this opportunity to interact with these parents," she said, "because I know they are very special."

She continued: "They share a special philosophy in life. Some have their own biological children as well as adoptive children. One of the biggest lessons I learn from them is that the definition of family is not necessarily biological."

Extending families
Ms. Park said the adoptive families help the native Korean people, who place such an emphasis on blood ties, to expand their views of what constitutes a family. In turn, native Koreans talk about their experience when they visit their homeland.

The 10 a.m. Sunday Mass at Holy Family Church is celebrated in the Korean language. This is another opportunity for adoptive families to share in a spiritual bond that unites people on a deeper level.

Ms. Morley, who is Methodist, said that her family attended a Mass at Holy Family. Although she could understand very little Korean, she recalled one point in the Mass when the community fanned out into a circle, joined hands and recited a prayer.

Ms. Morley said she sensed the spiritual connection with the community. She did not know what the people were saying, and yet there was something familiar about it. Later, she learned that the people were praying the Our Father.

"God's work is being done by this congregation and it has made such a difference in so many lives," said Ms. Morley.

(03/04/10) [[In-content Ad]]

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