Back in Harrisburg

So I wanted to give a quick update since being back in Harrisburg. We have been able to go into Harrisburg three fridays now that school has gotten back in session. One week were not able to go because of all the flooding in Harrisburg. But since coming back I've been able to see a lot of familiar faces and meet some other interesting people.

Yesterday was Logan's birthday and so we celebrated by going into Harrisburg with a cake and sharing it with the homeless people. We have been continuing in our pursuit to build friendships and to remain humble as we serve those through the building of relationships. I was talking with a man named Chuck last night who was talking about how much it meant for him to have us just come and hang out and share some cake. He shared how “People with townhouses, and condos, and mortgages” don’t really go out of their way for the homeless. He said, “it’s the little things that are essential. ” I hope that we can continue to deliver the ‘little things.’ It's the little things that keep us human, it's the little things that make up equals. We are all under God's grace, and we humble ourselves before Him. I encourage you to pray for us as we try and do the 'little things' that God can use to do big things, life changing things. 


One particular story I want to share is that there is a man named Ray who we've been able to talk to a lot over the past year. He was falling behind on his rent and there were several Messiah students who humbly gave to help him get caught back up on his rent, to pay off some of his debt. He has a job that starts this week and I ask that you pray for him that this can be a sustainable job. Pray for his work ethic and pray for the job itself, that it will remain. 


God has payed our debt, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 


God Bless,
Andy Breighner

The Dangerous Sub-Society

During my three month stay in Korea I learned a lot about the way different cultures work, think, and interact. I met people from all over the world and learned so much about many different ways of life. But before I came to Korea my primary goal was to learn mostly about Koreans and interact with Koreans. I learned the basics of the Korean language in an attempt to show my willingness to try to connect with Koreans. But my experiences kept making me feel like I would never be able to truely connect with Koreans and be part of the Korean society.

As I tried to connect I faced several different obstacles that blocked my path to reaching my goal of emercing myself in Koeran society. The first obstacle was language. In my attempts to learn the language I faced a lot of adversity. Most of the time when I would try to speak to Koreans in Korean they would either interupt me and tell me they speak english or just respond in english.  Occationally they would respond in Korean. It was very difficult for me to practice Korean and get comfortable speaking because there is an expectation for caucations like myself to only speak english which has arisen because the majority of foreigners in Korea are there to teach english. But I was not an english teacher, and this led me to feel disconnected from Korean society and amplified the fact that I was an outsider. 

It is also very hard to break into the Korean society because they have a very strong 'in-group out-group' system that was explained to me by a Korean and a Korean-American now living in Korea. They tried to explain that in Korean society people tend to form very strong 'in-groups' with people that they are friends and family with. Anyone who is different or not part of the 'in-group' is henceforth, in the 'out-group.' People who are in the out-group will have a very hard time fitting into an in-group. Many Koreans whom I have talked to that have spent time abroad said that they even have a hard time fitting back into Korean society because people imidiately notice they are different. This system tends to create gaps between those in an in-group and outsiders. I want to clarify that this is not because Koreans are rude people, it is simply based upon their set of values. They highly value harmony in relationships and avoid conflict and dissagreements whenever possible. So creating an 'in-group' helps to maintian that harmony. Koreans are deffinitely nice people, I believe that this is just their way of forming a social system based upon their set of values. But this does pose a problem for those who want to be a part of the main society because any type of difference may cause a native Korean to feel uncomfortable fully letting someone into their 'in-group.' 

As somone who was different in Korea I felt that I was not being fully accepted into Korean society and never made my way into an in-group. Instead I found myself in a sub-society of other foreigners. Most other foreigners agreed with me that it is hard to fully assimilate into a purely Korean society. It seems that some foreigners thrive on this idea of being different because it brings a lot of attention to them. As I was explaining before, Koreans are nice people and tend to be very generous when dealing with foreigners, expecially caucations. This attention can lead to being complaicent because one may feel priveledged. I was having a conversation one evening at dinner with an American, a native Korean, and a Philipino. I was expressing my frustration about how I'll speak Korean and people will respond in english and how I felt on the outside of society because people treated me differently. The girl from the philipians told me that most people thrive on the feeling of being different and being a foreigner because they enjoy the attention and priveledges. To me, this didn't really cross my mind. To me, I wanted to be part of the 'main society' but instead I was forsce to be a part of a 'sub-society.'

It took me several weeks to even become part of a sub-society. And before  I became part of the sub-society of foreign friends I made I went through a lot of frustrating times feeling lonely and stressed. It made me very uncomfortable with my situation. And as I went through the adventure of adapting to a new society I started to draw connections with my struggles and that of homeless people. The only problem being, homeless people have it even worse. 

Homeless people are living in a sub-society. One that is not formed by choice, but one that has resulted because they have been sheilded from the 'main society.' Just as I was ousted from the 'main society' in Korea, I took refuge in a 'sub-society' of foreigners. But unlike myself homeless people do not recieve special attention and they definitely don't recieve generous hospitality. Instead they recieve hostility. The 'main society' tends to view them as lesser people because of their situation and rejects them from the main society because they are viewed as different and outcasts. The problem with homelessness is not that they are financially poor or because they smell bad it is because they are relational poor. They are limited with who they can interact with because they are rejected from interacting with the 'main society.' 

To people that are not homeless, the answer to how to help the homeless may be found by looking at how to integrate sub-societies into 'main societies.' There are clearly more complexities to the homeless situation, such as finances, jobs, housing, health issues, addictions, and other such issues, but the biggest problem is when someone has lived in the sub-society of homeless for many years they may have a hard time assimilating back into the 'main society.' Some may integrate easily, while others may not. But this is an issue of homelessness that needs to be addressed and I feel has been widely overlooked.

-Andrew Breighner

I know nothing about the homelessness 2

                                                   Seoul City

           I was scared, and terrified that I could not think anything. Really, I could have just took a bus or a train and leave. But at that moment, I must have believed that I was homeless – I thought I had nowhere to go.

            I kept looking for the old man, but I failed to do so. While looking for the old man, I found another man sitting on the other side of the stairs. I walked up to him and asked if he saw the old man I was with.

“He went down that way.”He pointed toward the opposite side of the station. “I have never seen you before. Where is your hometown?”

I answered him that I am from Incheon city. Then he asked: “Why are living out here?”

            He thought that I was homeless. I hesitated whether I should lie or tell the truth and finally, I told him the truth. When I told him the truth, he seemed mad.

“Don’t even dare to dream about experiencing the homelessness. It sucks.”

He almost yelled as he was saying the words. He was not mad at me, but it seemed like he was mad about his life.

“It is really dangerous out here. People steal things from each other and even hurt each other.”

He pointed at his teeth. He did not have 4 front teeth.  

“Do you see this? I lost them from fighting someone on the street. Fighting is very common here. Let me tell you a story, not too long ago, a drunken homeless woman stabbed three people with her knife in front of Seoul station. Out of those three, two were not homeless. Lots of people here carry knives in their coats.” And then he showed me a scar on his neck and continued.

“Someone I don’t even know tried to stab me while I was sleeping. That’s street life. If you have anything curious about it, just ask me and go back to you home.

I was frightened. This feeling was similar to the feeling I had when I was in New York City witnessing Ronnie (a homeless guy I met there) attempting to buy drugs from a dealer. Later, when the man calmed down, I asked him the reason he is out on the street.

“I became homeless during the IMF. I used to own a clothes factory and had 35 employees under me.”

            Soon after the homeless man finished his words, a man halted as he approached to us. I looked up and saw him coming toward us. The man stopped right in front of us and greeted to the man whom I was talking to. The man did not have focus on his eyes and he was rocking his body back and forth. He looked at me and said:

“Do you want a cigarette?” He lifted his right hand toward the pocket on his left chest. Then I realized that his hands were bloody that I could not even tell the shape of his hands.”

I told him that I don’t smoke but I could not make an eye contact since I was intimidated.  

“Do you really want to experience the homelessness? This is the reality kid!” The homeless man whom I was talking to shouted as he pointed at the man in front of us.

“Have you ever seen anyone dead? I was on the streets for 4 years and I don’t remember the number of people I saw dead. People who I drink with yesterday die today. I look like a tough guy right? But this life on the street makes me cry so many times.”  

I was speechless. I was just dumbfounded from the shock. The guy who tried to give me a cigarette went on his way. After he went, there was a few minutes of silence. Finally, I opened my mouth and asked him if he wants to eat something.

            “I wish to drink some alcohol. Can you get me some?”

I said I couldn’t and I told him I can get food for him. But he refused and asked for a bottle of soda. I ran to a store nearby and bought him a bottle of soda.

“Many people on the street cannot eat well. They drink too much alcohol and now their stomach cannot handle food well. Some people throw up if they eat. One time, I could not eat for 22 days and went to a hospital.” He said after he had a sip of the drink.

I asked him why don't people quit drinking then.

“You cannot live on the streets without drinking. That will be too harsh. You must drink to bear it.”

I asked him what would be a good way to help the homeless.  

“The homeless people have problems too. They should not make others uncomfortable. There are homeless people who pee inside Seoul station or even poop. But other people have problems too. One time, a worker in Seoul Station pushed a homeless on a wheel chair to kick the person out of the station. Unfortunately, the homeless person fell from the stairs and died. What’s more maddening is that the worker was determined as an innocent person at the court.”

 That was an appalling story. I asked him if anyone attempted to have a conversation in order to understand him.

“There have been some people who gave me food here and there, but for past 4 years, there has not been a single person who tried to talk to me. That’s for sure.”

For other people, the homeless were merely animals in the zoo who can be content only with food.

I asked him one more time if I can stay with him for one night to learn about the homelessness. He firmly said “No” and said that I must go back. I thought for awhile and eventually came back home. On the way back, I kept thinking whether I should have stayed or not. However, I came to a conclusion that I need to find a homeless who is willing to accept me to his daily life before I do anything. I will keep looking for the one as long as I am in Korea. Pray for me.

Issac Won

I know nothing about the homelessness 1

            My heart was pumping like crazy. I was sweating and tentative to walk forward. As I was getting closer to Seoul Station, my mind was spinning and changing thoughts hundred times per second. Tonight, I planned to sleep outside on the street with the homeless. Andy decided not to join me since such action could cause him some legal problems; moreover, he is too noticeable among the homeless in Korea where there are no white homeless people.

            I wandered around to find a homeless man to whom I can connect with. I figured that it would be meaningless to just sleep outside by myself since I would not be able to learn anything about the homeless. In fact, I was looking for someone like Greg (my homeless friend in Harrisburg, PA) who is willing to help me to learn about the homelessness. It was not easy. Many people were drunk and mentally unstable. It was almost to the point where I could not really distinguish between the homeless and simply drunk people.

            Finally, I saw an old man sitting on the stairs near the main gate of Seoul station. I approached to him and asked if he wanted anything to eat.

“I don’t need anything to eat. I just need water. Could you get me some water?” the man said politely.

I ran to a convenient store in the station and brought him a bottle of water and I discreetly sat next to him.

“Did you eat yet? Do you want some of my kimbab?” He asked me as he showed me his kimbab (it is a Korean dish that resembles much like Sushi rolls)

I told him that I am not hungry then he started to eat. While I was sitting with the old man I could notice the pedestrians looking at me weirdly. Maybe after he had 3 pieces of kimbab, he stopped eating.

“I can’t eat anymore. My stomach hurts.” The man said in pain and he continued: “My stomach cannot handle much food.”

We were sitting down together for like an hour. I asked him various things including the reason he is on the streets. The old man became a homeless about a month ago because he could not work anymore. His children are living far south of Korea; therefore, he rarely gets any help from them. After awhile, I carefully asked him if he can help me out to experience the homelessness in Korea.

“No.. I am afraid I cannot help you.” The old man said with his confused look and said: “I like to be alone.”

I tried to convince him but I couldn’t. He was saying that it is illegal to be with a young man (which is clearly a lie). I gave up to convince him and asked him where I can get cardboard boxes. He told me the location and I went there telling him that I will be back soon.

            When I came back, the old man disappeared. The sky was already dark, and I did not know what to do. I felt like I was abandoned. I have been to Seoul station perhaps more than 100 times since I came to Korea but the place looked too different for me tonight. It was cold, hostile and grotesque.

Issac Won

The best attraction of Seoul City

Seoul Station

            In the city of Seoul, there are three major places where the homeless people gather – Seoul Station, City hall, and Young deng po. Out of the three places, Andy and I helped the homeless in Seoul Station. Seoul Station is the center of the means of transportations in South Korea. Due to this reason, it attracts thousands of people every day and those thousands of people see the homeless wandering around the area.

            Only few days ago, I got a Facebook message from Sarah Farkas (the leader of the volunteer group on Sundays) that says Seoul City is planning to kick out all the homeless from Seoul Station. I would like to jot down some of my thoughts on this occurrence.

            “UNESCO nominated city of design,” this is the new title for Seoul City. UNESCO is an organization from UN (United Nations) which protects natural and artificial places on earth. Honestly, out of all the countries I have been to, I don’t think I have ever heard of the name of the organization; however, in Korea, I have noticed that being nominated from the organization means a lot. Now, to maintain its reputation, Seoul City is trying to beautify the area around Seoul Station and their first move is kicking the homeless out.

     

            Kicking out the homeless from Seoul Station is somewhat understandable. Seoul City does not want to give bad impressions to the tourist by having the homeless around the biggest station. This will definitely not make the area look pleasant. I do not want to blame on Seoul City for its decision but I do want to blame on some selfish Koreans.

            As I was reading more articles about this new decision of Seoul City, I was able to read people’s opinions.  Sadly, and as I expected, many people were happy about Seoul City’s new policy. In addition to people’s cruel reactions, I have learned that there are rumors about the homeless that they are violent and aggressive – which is preposterous.

            I do not know about other people but for me, the best part of traveling is meeting new people. Beautiful mountains, flamboyant night views, fancy clubs and bars are nice attractions of Seoul. However, would not Seoul City be much more attractive place if citizens of Seoul City embrace and care for each other? At least I think so.

Issac Won

Aren't they human beings like us?

            I remember meeting the old man in Harrisburg who told me that it is not too bad to live on the streets. If you read my older post “Not too bad.” You would know that he, in fact, was not a homeless but chose to be one. Just like he said, I thought that living in the streets of Harrisburg was not too bad. When Andy and I were sleeping on the street, a part of me was excited to eat at the churches and shelters next day. Only thing I was worried about was the cold wind that we had to bear (I still remember when we were shivering in 13 degrees outside).

            The homeless people here get fed pretty well like those in Harrisburg and the food is amazing like that of Harrisburg (the shelters serve Korean food!). There are many different places where the homeless people get food and supplies. Things look very similar to Harrisburg except for people’s perception about the homeless. Every time Andy and I talk to the homeless people and hang out, other people look at us as if we were wearing funny clothes or something (actually, I am not that fashionable but still!). People are cold toward the homeless; they despise the homeless. Andy and I are thinking to live on the streets sometime soon but these judgmental views against the homeless make me scared to experience the homeless life.

            Due to the hatred, the homeless people begin to look down on themselves. They are immune to the abomination and now they think that is how they should be treated. From what I see and hear, it seems like the homeless here came to a point where they do not believe that they have same rights like any other people. Saddest part is that other “non-homeless people” refuse to give the same rights to the homeless as well. There are unwritten laws which limit the range activities of the homeless; the discrimination is still prevalent in the democratic society of South Korea.

   

            One day, when I was “cooking” at the drop in center, I talked to one of the homeless people. I said ‘hello,’ to him but he was hesitating to respond to me. When I said ‘hello’ again, he bowed to me and said: “I am thankful that you are talking to me.” I did not expect that response, thus I wasn’t sure what to do or say. Since then, he came to me frequently and talked about Korean politics and history. From that, I have realized that he did not have many friends to whom he could talk to; therefore, I tried my best to listen to him.

            Interestingly enough, even some homeless people really think that they do not deserve to be treated well. While I was doing the dishes at the same place I volunteer at, I talked to a worker there who once was a homeless. I asked him many things in an attempt to learn about the homeless life. When I asked him how much he makes from working at the place, however, his face became very serious.

“Why do you ask? It doesn’t pay well. You are young so study rather than looking for a job like this.”

His voice was very assertive and intimidating. I laughed out loud and explained what Andy and I are doing in Korea.

“Oh, I see. Well, I would like to tell you one thing. Don’t be nice to the homeless people. They will become lazier if you treat them nicely.”

I was surprised to hear that from someone who was a homeless.

            “But when you were a homeless, were you depressed when people treated you badly?”

I asked him but he did not respond to my question. He was pondering upon something and then went back to his work.

            There was a few minutes of silence between us. I broke the silence with another question. I asked him if he has a family. He stopped doing the dishes and looked at me.

            “I don’t have a family. I never got married.” He looked sad as he was saying the words.

“Did you choose not to get married?” I was not sure if I should ask him the question but I did anyways.

            “Yeah, I chose not to get married because I didn’t think that I could afford a family.”

Right after he responded, I realized that the work was over. Since the man I talked to had to do his own work, we had to be separated. Without finishing our conversation, I had to come back home.

Issac Won

Stories from the streets of Seoul

            One thing that frustrates us the most is the transportation. Since our home is too far away, there is only one train per hour that travels between our home and Seoul. I remember one day when we had to run to catch the train. As soon as we got to the train station, we saw the train leaving. When we realized that we had to wait for another hour, Andy suggested to take a homeless person out for dinner. We walked toward the main gate of Seoul Station and on our way, I found two homeless people seating on the floor. An old man wore grey clothes and another man wore a grey and red shirt. Andy and I approached to them and asked if they had dinner.

            “No. But I am fine.” One guy said as if he was suspicious of us.

I had to persuade him that we wanted to buy them something. After ten times of asking, finally, they came along. Since we did not want to take them to a restaurant where we wanted to go, I asked if they had any preferred place to eat.

            “People like us do not deserve to choose. We eat whatever. Just go wherever you want to.” The man in a grey and red shirt said as he was waiving his hands.

            “We had dinner already so it is your pick. Just tell us whatever you want to eat.” I replied.

            “Uhmmm… what I want to eat is quite expensive though… I want to eat… fried chicken.” The man in grey shirt finally opened his mouth tentatively.

            All of us walked to a nearby fried chicken place. The man in grey, Andy and I walked in and sat down inside the restaurant; however, the man in red and grey shirt stood outside. I went out to take him inside.

            “Why aren’t you coming in?” I asked in wonder.

            “I smell bad and I look really dirty and shabby. If I go in, it will make the people inside uncomfortable.” He said with a smile on his face and again, he waived his hands as a sign of mild refusal to go in. Then, I have noticed that he only had his thumb on his right hand.

I almost tried to drag him in telling him it is ok. He, finally, came in reluctantly and sat with us.

             The owner came to us and had to verify that the homeless people were our companion. When I said ‘yes,’ the owner did not seem pleasant but I tried not to care about him. We ordered fried chicken and French fries. As we were waiting for the food, Andy and I conversed with the homeless people.

            “I used to make $ 10,000 a month.” The man in grey started the conversation. Then he continued: “I owned a small construction office and made tons of money. But, when I became sick, my children put me in a monastery saying that I need some metal care and took all my money and ran away. I don’t know where they are.”

The story stunned me and literally, my month did not close for few seconds. I did not know what to say to him other than sorry to hear that. Really, I was sorry for him. While listening to the man in grey, the food we ordered came out. I put one piece on each of us’ plates. To follow the Korean table manner, I waited until the older people (homeless people in this case) to eat first. However, the guy in grey and red shirt did not start eating. I asked him if he does not like chicken.

                        “No, I like chicken. I am just waiting for you to eat first.” The man in grey and red shirt responded.

When he asked me to eat first, I have noticed that his self-esteem is extremely low. He was recognizing himself as a lower being than I am. This is a big humiliation in Korean culture. I could not believe that an older person like him would humble himself like that.

            Once we finished the chicken, we walked back to the station together and said good bye to each other. Those two homeless men did not stop saying ‘sorry’ to us. I did not understand why they had to be sorry to us but soon, I realized that they think they made us to waste our time.

After that day, we encountered the guy with red and grey shirt several times. Every time we met him, he said: “Sorry about the other day.” It seems like the homeless people here are completely dehumanized.

          

Issac Won