Children’s tear-stained faces lit up with smiles at the sight of Lego blocks spread across the orphanage floor. Thanks to donations by Lego Korea in collaboration with the Danish Embassy, the children of Haesim Orphanage in Seoul will enjoy a Christmas chock-full of creative joy and wonder.

The Christmas charity event on Dec. 12 was the second partnership between the embassy and Lego Korea. The donation was comprised of different Lego sets for children from babies to high-school students.

Danish Ambassador to Korea Thomas Lehmann said that the venue was the “best day” of his ambassadorship since he was sworn into office in August.

“Lego embodies the Danish design principles of simplicity, functionality and timelessness and allows children to creatively build their dreams,” Lehmann said. “As a gender-neutral toy, it develops innovative and critical thinking that lasts a lifetime.”

In an interview with The Korea Herald, orphanage director Gwon Pil-hwan talked about difficult circumstances faced by orphanages in Korea due to tightening government support. “We have 58 orphans from 1-month-old to high school students who are tended by only 12 social workers on a 24-hour shift,” Gwon said.

“It takes 40 to 50 minutes to milk-feed a single baby. The first baby is already hungry after one round of feeding six babies. There’s no time to do other things like wash them, clean rooms and do the laundry.”

Gwon said that the orphanage issue is never on the agenda of politicians, who prioritize hot-button issues like day care facilities.

Haesim, meaning merciful heart, has been home to homeless and parentless children since 1929. Many children come to the orphanage through the Seoul Metropolitan Children’s Welfare Center for various reasons, such as parents’ broken marriages, underage mothers, physical abuse and economic hardship. It is one of 280 orphanages in Korea, 40 of which are in Seoul.

“Although the overall number of orphans is waning due to the low birthrate, the worsening economy has had repercussions on the lives of these children,” Gwon said.

Gwon added that the number of baby orphans admitted to the center has soared after the two “baby boxes” ― a 70 cm by 60 cm by 45 cm steel compartment where babies are dropped off ― were set up in Seoul by church groups. Of the orphaned babies, 80 percent are from the less wealthy countryside.

“They really miss their parents and family,” Gwon said. “When kids with parents are visited by their fathers and mothers, other orphans look on with envious, teary eyes.”

Gwon emphasized that today’s orphans have stronger individual desires than those before the 1980s, when the overall society was poor. Nowadays, it is orphans’ emotional void that is impossible to fill, which ultimately leads to various psychological and societal problems, he added.

As the city government passed the buck to the civilian sector in caring for these children, they are looked after by disparate groups, which ends up affecting the development of their character, the director explained.

“They don’t realize it when they’re here, but after they get out and face the cold society, they say their times were full of happiness and love here,” Gwon said.

In Denmark, the number of orphanages is very low as “it is believed that children are best cared for by their birth parents, so societal care is first and foremost about offering support to the family,” the Danish Embassy said. A wide range of initiatives ― educational and financial support, counseling, 24-hour care by a foster family ― fully subsidized by the city, is provided before the child is placed in a state-care institution.

The Danish Embassy hosts various cultural and educational programs in Korea to raise social awareness between Danes and Koreans. In partnership with the Innovation Center Denmark, the embassy participated in the “Study and Research in Europe” student exchange fair at the Hanguk University of Foreign Studies in October.

Lehmann has also given a series of lectures at universities, the latest one being on his country’s green growth strategy at Konkuk University in Seoul.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)