EKF Cine-Café in December: Behind Forgotten Eyes & Resilience

In December 2007, EKF Cine-Café screened Behind Forgotten Eyes, an independent, English-language documentary on sex slavery during the Japanese colonial period by American film maker Anthony Gilmore. As usual there were two screenings – in the morning of Wednesday, December 12th, and in the evening of Thursday, December 20th, and EKF was proud to welcome Tammy Chu, Associate Producer of Behind Forgotten Eyes and Director and Co-Producer of Resilience, as a discussant to both screenings.

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HSBC Donation Campaign for Korean Heritage Artists with the Seoul Metropolitan Government & EKF

HSBC started a donation campaign to promote Korean intangible cultural assets in Seoul in collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and EKF from December 11th, 2007 to February 15th, 2008 at all HSBC branches nationwide. The celebration of the campaign was held at HSBC on the same day, with special remarks of gratitude to Simon Cooper, HSBC Korea CEO, by Seoul Intangible Cultural Assets Committee Chairman, Bok-gon Kim, on behalf of Seoul’s intangible traditional artists for strongly supporting Korea’s unique culture. Followed by the successful Seoul Traditional Artist Award in May 2007, supporting gifted artists of traditional Korean art forms financially and providing the artists with chances to promote Korean traditional culture have become the main focus of HSBC’s activities in the area of corporate social responsibility.

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EKF at the SIWA and Diplomatic Community Bazaar 2007

Every year, SIWA (Seoul International Women’s Association) arranges the SIWA and Diplomatic Community Bazaar – a great intercultural, charity “Christmas Bazaar” for old and young with a long-standing tradition dating back to the year 1970. The bazaar is one of the two major fundraising events organised by SIWA every year and is joined by most embassies in Seoul, a variety of Korean and international organizations, international and Korean companies as well as individual vendors and importers.   During the bazaar an immensely large variety of different products, many of which are hard to come by in Korea, are being offered for sale at reasonable prices. Furthermore, instant raffles as well as a grand lottery are being held to raise funds for charity and a large number of artistic acts are providing great entertainment throughout the entire day.     This year the bazaar took place on Sunday, November 18, 2007, and for the first time, EKF was represented with a booth as well. Prior to the bazaar, we, since we do not have products of our own, contacted the EUCCK member companies asking them for their support. The responses from the companies were immediate and manifold, enabling us to collect a wide selection of products, including model British Airways planes, Barry’s Irish Tea sponsored by Gerard Consulting, Hoegaarden Beer sponsored by Oriental Brewery, cheese cake freshly baked in the morning of the bazaar from Sofitel, lip cream from Bayer Health Care and various Mercedes Benz products, such as model cars, a handbag, a bill fold, a wristwatch, candle holders, coasters, wine coolers, and rugs.   The bazaar was open from 11am to 5pm and we managed to sell most of the products at our booth. The profits generated amounted to close to 2.4 Mio KRW. This amount has been topped off with a financial donation by British American Tobacco, who donated 2 Mio KRW to support the EKF booth. In total, EKF was therefore able to generate close to 4.4 Mio KRW. The amount will be donated to the organizations that are being supported by EKF during a special donation ceremony at the January EUCCK Network Club scheduled for the end of January.   We at EKF would like to thank SIWA for providing us with a booth at the bazaar, all our corporate sponsors for providing us with products and financial donations, and of course all our customers for buying from us and therewith helping us to raise more funds.

EUCCK Members participate in the EKF Chusok Donation Campaign

In September, EKF contacted all EUCCK members, asking them to participate in a donation campaign for Chusok. Companies were asked to donate either their products or financially and to chose the province or region, whose charitable organisations they would like to support.

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Porsche Korea Donation to Seong Woo Won

As part of EKF’s Chusok Donation Campaign, Porsche Korea donated 5 Mil KRW to Seong Woo Won, a home for handicapped children and adults in Busan. The donation ceremony took place on Friday, October 19, 2007 during the Opening Ceremony of the new Porsche Centre in Busan.

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Practicing Love through PC Donation

On Friday, August 17, 2007, Philip Morris Korea Inc. donated forty computers to Shinyoung Middle School in South Gyeongsang Province. Shinyoung Middle School is an alternative for students who have difficulties engaging in normal studies, and for students who have dropped out of school and who want to receive an education that fits their own individual characteristics. PMKI’s Corporate Affairs Director, Mr. Brian Kim, who participated in this donation ceremony, asked teenagers to refrain from smoking while explaining the negative effects cigarettes have on the body. The school is located in the same area as PMKI’s Yangsan Operation.

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Henkel Korea is Making an Impact Tomorrow

On Friday, September 28, 2007, EKF in co-operation with Henkel Korea and Prain Inc. organised a music school for the blind children of Seongbukblind Welfare Office together with Korean and German musicians, who had gathered in Seoul to perform together in a concert, celebrating the 90th birthday of Korea’s most famous composer Yun I Sang.

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EKF Cine-Cafe - October Movie

"Address Unknown" (Suchwiin Bulmyeong) Directed by: Kim Gi Deok Cast: Cho Jae Hyun, yang Dong Keun, Ban Min Jung Released in: 2001

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Chusok Donation Campaign

In the spirit of giving and sharing, EKF launched a donation campaign for this year’s Chusok. All EUCCK members were contacted and requested to participate in the campaign by donating either products or financially. EKF distributed the donations to orphanages, homes for the handicapped and shelters for the homeless, soup kitchens, etc. In order to diversify this year’s donation, EKF also asked the donating companies to choose a province or city, which should benefit from the donation.

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September Wine Focus – Chilean Premium Wine Dinner

Following the success of June’s Wine Focus, WWK once again joined hands with Chiko Vino and Koho International to organise another wine dinner with Chilean wines and Dutch cheeses. The major difference this time was that all the wines introduced during the September Wine Focus, which took place at the Novotel Amassador Gangnam Seoul on Monday, September 17, 2007, were especially selected, high quality premium wines from the Aresti Estate – a Chilean wine growing family estate with a half-century long history.

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Art Donation

Well known chromolithographer Kim Kyung-ah and famous artist Jang Hyoen-jae, who were also portrayed in the August and September issues of Infomag, the monthly EUCCK magazine, both donated one of their paintings to EKF to support the charity activities of the foundation.

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EUCCK September Network Club – Casino Night

The EUCCK September Network Club took place at Seven Luck Casino in Gangnam on Thursday, September 13, 2007. All EUCCK members – Korean and foreigners – were invited to experience an exciting night of gambling. And even though the gambling part of the evening was strictly for fun and charity, most of the night’s guests bought chips and challenged their luck at the available Baccarat, Black Jack and Roulette tables.

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Fun Fun Chemistry Lab – A Great Example for Hands-on CSR

On Saturday, September 08, 2007, staff members of Cognis Korea met early in the morning to go to the Cognis Korea laboratory at Sunkyungwan University in Suwon. The reason for this rather unusual movement was a charity event, called “Fun Fun Chemistry Lab,” organised by EKF and Cognis Korea for children of the SOS Children’s Village, an orphanage supported regularly by EKF.

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2007 EKF Scholarship Programme Award Ceremony

On Friday, July 13th, 2007, the Europe-Korea Foundation (EKF) hosted the 2007 EKF Scholarship Programme Press Conference and Award Ceremony at The Executive Center (21st Floor of the Seoul Finance Center). Since 2003, EKF has provided scholarships to Korean students wishing to undertake their graduate and postgraduate studies in Europe. This year, a total of eight students were awarded an EKF Scholarship, which consisted of either financial support or deductions on the students’ tuition fees.

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Wine & Women Korea – Chilean Wine Dinner

Chilean wines have been evolving for more than 500 years and over the years, have met the needs of the growing world market. With a budding interest in Korea for wines from this region, WWK was honored to have hosted an intimate Chilean wine dinner on Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at the Novotel Ambassador Gangnam. This event featured wines from Terra Mater and Aresti wineries from Chile. The event was made possible with the co-operation with Chiko International, the Korean importing company for the wineries.

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4th Annual Children

The Europe-Korea Foundation, in co-operation with Dong-A Daily, has joined hands again organizing the Fourth Annual Children's Quiz in celebration of Children's Day on May 5, 2007.

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Beautiful Saturday Bazaar with EUCCK Members

On Saturday, June 2, 2007, the Europe Korea Foundation together with member companies of European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK/ President: Mr. Carl-Johan Hagman), and the Beautiful Store held a charity bazaar, “Beautiful Saturday,” to raise funds for a ”The Beautiful World Project” – a new collaboration between the Beautiful Store and Oxfam. Funds generated through this inaugural event for “The Beautiful World Project” will be donated to flood relief efforts in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The event took place in front of Jongno Millennium Tower in Jongno 2 Ga.

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Cine-Cafe June Schedule

“Seducing Mr. Perfect” (Mr. Robin Kkosigi, 2006) By Kim, Sang U Running Time: 107 min. Competent in a global M&A company, Min-Jun is fashionable and cool but dumped by her boyfriend when she arrives in Hong Kong expecting a wonderful vacation together. One day she bumps into Robin’s car and she tries to flee the scene, but it turns out they work at the same company. In fact, he’s the new CEO. Although she’d prefer to avoid him, she’s appointed his assistant. Mocking her way with men, he teaches her how to treat men and gives her the ultimate project, to seduce him.

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Wine & Women Korea – Wine Focus “Blind Wine Tasting”

On May 15, 2007, Wine & Women Korea, together with Pieroth Wines held the 2nd Blind Wine Tasting at the Novotel Ambassador Gangnam. Guests were put to the test with our Blind Tasting questionnaire by answering questions after tasting 5 fine wines sponsored by Pieroth Wines. The Questionnaire required guests to test their knowledge and expertise of wine by matching the wine description, country of origin, and grape variety to the correct wines presented at the 5 wine tasting stations. After everyone had tasted all the wines, the answer sheets were collected and Mr. Dan Schulte, President of Pieroth Wines Korea revealed the answers to the audience.

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Seoul Metropolitan Government European Advisory Committee

The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is looking for ways to improve the living conditions of foreigners in Seoul. Therefore, the Investment Division of the SMG contacted EKF to help in their effort by organizing a committee of foreign representatives in providing suggestions and constructive criticisms, which would help improve the standard of living for foreigners in Seoul and particularly in areas that are known to be highly populated by foreign residents, such as Hannam Dong, Bangbae Dong, Itaewon Dong and Dongbinggo Dong.

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2007 EU Film Festival – “Beyond Borders”

2007 EU Film Festival Beyond Borders For the 3rd consecutive year, the Europe-Korea Foundation was proud to have taken part in supporting Embassies of the European Union for the 3rd Annual EU Film Festival – “Beyond Borders” in Seoul. Every movie chosen for the festival were introduced at highly renowned international film festivals.. Over the years, the EU Film Festival became a “must” for movie goers and enjoyed a growing popularity among Korean movie fans. In 2007, a total of 10 participating European films were screened in the festival which took place from May 25 -31, 2007 at the Seoul Art Cinema. Ambassador Norbert Bass, Ambassador Brian McDonald, Mr. Choi Jung Woon, President of the Korean Association of Cinematheques, Mr. Kim Hak Joon, President of Dong A Ilbo, Mr. Cho Chang Hee, Director General of Culture Industry Bureau of the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Jee Dong Hoon, Co-President of EKF. During the opening ceremony, held on May 25, 2007, special VIP guests including the Ambassador of Germany, H.E. Norbert Baas, the Ambassador of the European Union, H.E. Brian McDonald, Mr. Cho Chang Hee, Director General of Culture Industry Bureau of the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, the President of the Korean Association of Cinematheques, Choi Jung-Woon, the President of DongA Ilbo, Dr. Kim Hak Joon, and Co-President of the Europe-Korea Foundation, Mr. Jee Dong-Hoon presented opening remarks along with members of the European and Korean community in attendance. The opening ceremony also included screening of the documentary “Comrades in Dreams”, a film which follows the lives of four projectionists living in extremely difficult worlds South India, Burkina Faso, mid-west US and North Korea. The film was directed by Uli Gaulke. Sponsored by Adidas Korea, Fissler Korea, and Schaeffler Korea, and special thanks to media sponsor DongA Ilbo, the EU Film Festival provided audiences a glimpse into the diverse cultures from countries that comprise of the European Union. Language, literature, performing arts, visual arts, architecture, crafts, broadcasting and cinema are all part of Europe’s cultural diversity. There are two aims of this festival: to preserve and support this diversity and help make it assessable to others, such as the Korean society. With this ambition in mind, Embassies in Seoul has taken the initiative for a festival to bring together a host of celebrated films from different EU countries.

Cine-Cafe May Schedule

* EKF Ciné-Café : MAY SCHEDULE “The Host” (Goemul, 2006) By Bong, Jun-Ho Running Time: 119 min. The Host revolves around Park Hee-Bong, a man in his late 60s. Park runs a small snack bar on the banks of the Han River and lives there will his two sons, a daughter, and a granddaughter. The Parks seem to lead an ordinary and peaceful life. Until one day, granddaughter is snatched away from her grandfather by a horrifying giant monster that emerges from the Han River to wreak havoc on Seoul. The Park family then sets out on a quest to locate the beast and bring their little girl back home to safety.

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The HA!Man Show

On Saturday, April 14th, 2007, the Europe-Korea Foundation (EKF) in cooperation with the South African Embassy held a concert with South African artist, Francois Le Roux, for the 3rd year in a row with his exhilarating spontaneous cello performance. Having toured South Africa, Europe, and North America, Mr. Le Roux was back in Asia with his memorable performance filled with instrumental, vocal, and dance components. For this special event, EKF also invited children from the SOS Children’s Village and from Anna House, many of whom were captivated by the spontaneous performance of Francois Le Roux

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Cine-Café: April Schedule

"Star” (Byul, 2003) By Jang, Hyoeng Ik Running Time: 106 min. This heartwarming often amusing movie focuses on four people – two who may be entering a relationship and two whose relationship appears to be ending. The young hero grew up an orphan and now works for Korea Telecom. A lonely man whose only true friend is his dog, Alfonse, he excels in his job to the envy of some of his co-workers. The young woman he admires is a vet and he finds all kinds of reasons to call on her professionally. The other couple has been married many years and who live in an isolated village. He is a dedicated doctor whose wife with an illness he cannot cure. The couple experienced a great loss that has affected their lives, both as individuals and as a couple. After seeing Byul, one can’t help but wonder if, in fact, one’s fate is written in the stars. When: April 11, 2007 @ 9:30 AM Where: Centre Culturel Français (French Cultural Center)

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EUCCK March Network Club - Charity Bingo Night

The EUCCK Network Club has been on the fundraising track since last November starting with a charity raffle during the Festa Italiana event, followed by SPAM collected at the Indian Night during the January EUCCK Network Club. Our most recent charity network club took place on March 22, 2007 at Asia Chow Restaurant with Charity Bingo Night. Proceeds raised through the Bingo Card sales are to be donated to Anna House – an organization led by Italian priest Father Vincenzo Bordo. (www.annahouse.or.kr)

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EKF Scholarship Programme: Interview with Ju Young Kang

Ms. Ju Young Kang, former award student of the EKF Scholarship Programme, met with EKF in March to talk about her experience studying in Europe. In 2004, Ms. Kang was awarded the EKF Scholarship, which was supported by Samsung Tesco, to study in the MBA Programme of Manchester Business School in the United Kingdom. She left Korea in August 2004 and returned to Korea after successfully acquiring an MBA degree in September 2006.

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Wine & Women Korea - Wine Around Europe

Anniversary Gala Event on International Women's Day On March 8, 2007, the Europe-Korea Foundation (EKF) celebrated the 1st anniversary of its now famous wine club Wine & Women Korea (WWK), on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The charity gala was held at the Novotel Ambassador in Gangnam and over 300 guests – European Ambassadors, women and men, Koreans and foreigners – were in attendance to this event. WWK was honored to have welcome speeches made by His Excellency Norbert Baas, Ambassador of the German Embassy, Mr. Jee Dong Hoon, Deputy Secretary General of EUCCK, and Mr. Raffaele Quarto, European Union - Head of Trade Mission. During the “Wine Around Europe” event, all guest tasted fine wines from historic wine-making countries around Europe: France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, as well as Korea. Besides wine, this event also promoted the cultural and tourism assets of these countries. In addition, the event featured a performance of the Korean fusion band E-Jung-Ju, a gourmet buffet and a lucky draw including a DIOS Wine Cellar sponsored by LG Electronics. Before the main event, there was a biz-matching meeting between 5 and 7 p.m. where wine importers as well as other wine professionals and personalities met with wine makers and traders who are not yet importing to Korea: Chateau Ripeau, a St Emilion Grand Cru Classé (Bordeaux), Chateau de Lavernette from Beaujolais, also representing the 12 Stars of Beaujolais – a group of 12 women producing all the crus in Beaujolais, Vivir el Vino – a wine trader from Spain, etc. Wine & Women Korea is the wine club of the Europe-Korea Foundation (EKF), the charity arm of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK). The club has been founded on March 8, 2006 and its purpose is to promote wine(s) and wine culture in Korea, to raise consumers’ awareness and to support wine professionals in their efforts to address the Korean wine market. To know more about the club and its activities, you can check the following link: http://www.ekf.or.kr/site/programme/wwk/about/about_board.htm. WWK will continue to hold wine events throughout the year. Please email Nicole.risse@ekf.or.kr for more information.

The Europe-Korea Foundation signed MOU with HSBC and the Seoul Metropolitan Government

On March 5, 2007, Mr. OH Se Hoon, Mayer of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Mr. Simon N. Copper, President & CEO of HSBC Korea, and Mr. Jean-Jacques Grauhar, President of the Europe-Korea Foundation (EKF) and Secretary General of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea (EUCCK), signed an agreement to strengthen mutual cooperation and support in preserving and developing the tradition of intangible cultural assets designated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

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Lunar New Year Donations with Governor of Jeolla Province

In celebration of Lunar New Year 2007, five EUCCK Member companies made donations of new products which were given away to charity organizations. These companies include Estee Lauder Ltd., LVMH Korea, Mary Kay Korea, Osram Korea Co. Ltd., and TUV Rheinland Group. On February 16, 2007, Mr. & Mrs. Kim Wan Joo, Governor of North Jeolla Province, together with Mr. Jee Dong Hoon, President of the Europe-Korea Foundation (EKF) and Deputy Secretary General of the European Union Chamber of Commerce (EUCCK) visited Wonkwang Mojawon (원광모자원) – a house for families without adult male providers, and Samsung Women’s Rest House (삼성여성의쉼터) – a shelter for women who suffer under violent husbands. With gifts in hand, Mrs. Kim Chong Ja, the governor’s wife, distributed the cosmetic gift sets to the single mothers in those shelters. The gift sets will hopefully help the women build self esteem meanwhile giving them courage for the Lunar New Year, whereas the toys from TUV Rheinland will surely give some joy and laughter to the kids.

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Ms. Seung-Eun Park: Former EKF Scholarship Recipient visits EKF Office

Ms. Seung-Eun Park: Former EKF Scholarship Recipient visits EKF Office Seung-Eun Park, EKF Scholarship Alumni Ms. Park Seung-Eun, recipient of the EKF Scholarship 2004, used the Lunar New Year holidays to visit her home country. She came to the EKF office on Wednesday, February 21, 2007, to tell us about her experience in Germany and Europe and her plans for the future.

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Philip Morris Korea Inc. Donates Computers to Local Orphanage

Philip Morris Korea Inc. Donates Computer to Local Orphanage On Wednesday, February 07, 2007, representatives of EKF and Philip Morris Korea Inc. (PMKI) went to the SOS Children’s Village in Shinwol-Dong, Seoul, to donate computers to the facility.

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Cine-Cafe March Schedule

Cine-Café: March Schedule “White Valentine” (1999) By Yang, Yun Ho Running Time: 89 min. White Valentine is the story two people who initially meet as pen pals. The female writer, however, was a child at the time, pretending to be an adult. Following an aborted meeting, the two stop writing and go on with their lives. However, as fate woudl have it, their lives intertwine at various junctions without either really being aware of the other, and always oblivious to the fact that they once had a connection. In a style that is very typical of Korean romantic movies, there is no clear conclusion to the story although the last scene allows members of the audience to use their imagination to visualize the ending.

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Cine-Cafe: February Movie Screening

Cine-Café: February Schedule “Love Phobia (Domabaem)” (2006) By Kang, Ji-Eun Running Time: 117 min. Love Phobia traces the relationship of two people who meet as children. The one is a shy naïve boy, Jo-kang, while the other, Ari, is a quirky non-conformist. The boy comes from a 'normal' two-parent family, while the girl is being raised by a monk. The two become close friends as children, but one day, the girl suddenly disappears. Ten years later, the two meet again. But despite their happy and close relationship, they part once more. When they meet up again, the two are adults with the young man having followed the expected career track and become a banker – however, his choice of career is really the result of Ari's quirky dreams. Love Phobia takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, from laughter to tears and back again.

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EUCCK January Network Club - A Taste of India

Every month, EKF, on behalf of the EUCCK, organizes a networking event called EUCCK Network Club. For January, we incorporated an Indian theme by hosting this event at Taj Restaurant on January 23, 2007. India is a country joined in unity despite its diversity, much like the European Union, hence it was interesting to introduce Indian culture and cuisine to our members. This month we also tried to introduce a charity aspect to the

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Donations of Used Items to South Korean Charity Organizations

Following an announcement to all EUCCK member companies in May 2006, we have since made another request in December 2006 for used office equipment and appliances items to be donated to the South Korean charity organizations EKF supports, namely SOS Children’s Villages, Aeranwon, Motungii Shwimpteo and Seongshim Dideumdol. Many companies have replied and donated items such as computers, monitors, copy machines, etc. The items have been distributed to the organizations above according to their needs. Hence, we would like to thank Zuellig Pharma Korea Ltd., PMI Korea, Organon Korea, SGS Korea, Clariant Korea, AIG Life Insurance Korea, and the British Embassy for their generous donations.

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Cine-Cafe: January Movie Screening

Lump Sugar (Gakseoltang) is a first in the Korean movie industry in that it stars an animal as the main character. The story focuses on a child whose equestrian mother is killed in an accident. Despite her father's attempts to protect her by keeping her from having close contact with the horse on their breeding 'ranch', Si-eum develops a close relationship with her mother's horse, a mare named General, and then with General's offspring, Thunder. To her father's consternation, Si-eum doesn't just love horses, she dreams of becoming a jockey, an almost exclusively male profession.

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