Service and Projects

The Rotary Club of Busan Tongbaek has four main service committees, which are actively involved in a number of projects as described below. You can use the following list to jump to the relevant sections on this page.

• Club Service (including Family Service)

• Vocational Service

• Community Service

• International Service

  Club service information

The main Club service activities this Rotary year are associated with the re-introduction of a regular Club Bulletin and development of a new Club website.

The Bulletin provides all members with up to date information on meetings, activities, events and guests schedules and is sent out after each regular weekly meeting.

The introduction of a new Club website to some extent duplicates the Bulletin and may one day replace it! However, the Website represents the main project and is now almost fully developed as you will see if you are reading this. Indeed the website provides a different dimension to the Club for storing information and historical data. Visitors to the website can browse information about the Club and about Rotary International in general. However, the website also provides members with a protected area, which contains member contact data and other club related information on attendance, subscriptions, club budget/accounts information etc.

Please contact the Webmaster if you find any errors or omissions, or if you have any suggestions for new material to be included.

Family Service

The family service committee itself is a relatively new addition to the Rotary format and is an extension of the Club Service committee focusing on social activities to involve Rotary members, their families and friends.

We also organise regular hiking events, The Rotary Club of Busan Tongbaek's Family Service committee is responsible for arranging the seasonal picnics (usually Spring and Autumn). Some of these events are recorded in the 'Club archive' section (See menu on the left hand side of the page. One recent event was eld on 28th November 2004 and a group picture is included opposite. It was hard to believe this was and Autumn picnic with temperatures up in the 20's.

We also hold regular hiking events during the Spring, Summer and Autumn months. Some of these events are recorded in the Club archive (See the menu on the left hand side of the page). Club members who participate in the hiking events have recently founded a sub-group known as the 'Tongbaek Alpine Circle' and they are famous for carrying the banner far and wide in search of unique photographic opportunities. The Tongbaek Alpine Circle banner is shown adjacent.

Last but not least, the Family committee are also involved in arranging Golf matches, which form a  regular part of the Clubs calendar during the Spring and Autumn months, usually the third Saturday. Some of you may know that it is very expensive to play Golf in Korea, the largest outlay being the purchase of a golf membership which can cost in region of $150,000 to  $200,000 depending upon the location, quality and  and stature of the golf club itself. Some of our older members have excellent golfing handicaps and new comers, guests and visitors alike who dare to join in, should be wary of the duping tactics employed when participating in gamesmanship wagers. You have been warned!

The golf events are usually held at the A1 Country Club which is about 1 hours drive Northeast of Busan. A picture looking out over one of the sections of the course is shown opposite, where you will immediately see the beauty of both the course and the surrounding landscape. Due to the somewhat dramatic and mountainous terrain in Korea, almost all courses are built in valleys and along the lower levels of the surrounding hillsides. The AI course itself boasts three separate nine hole courses with holes ranging from Par 3 to Par 5 over a range of skill levels. The greens are seldom completely flat and always provide a fitting challenge to end each hole.

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  Vocational service information

The Rotary Club of Busan Tongbaek hold two or three vocational meeting each Rotary year. Vocational meetings provide a good opportunity for members to see how some of the local business operate and this in turn provides opportunity to reward some individuals for contribution they make to society and the local community in general. A good example of such service is a local meeting at one of the Club members Eye Clinics. Dr. Lee Euy Hyo has performed over 4,000 eye surgeries using state of the art laser (Lasik) treatment and he and his staff continue to provide services essential to the well being of many people both locally and further a field.

Other examples include visits to music concerts organised by through club members involved in local music education establishments.

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  Community service information

The Rotary Club of Busan Tongbaek has undertaken many community related projects and actively seeks further ways to support the local community. This includes help to local schools, missions and other care related establishments.

Recent projects, for example, include the purchase of food and heating fuel tokens for the Hanarre Cultural Centre which provides care for local under-privileged people, ranging from orphans and single elderly people who find themselves with no other family.

One other project recently completed is a CAPS project where the Rotary Club of Busan Tongbaek together with other local Rotary Clubs and the Busan International Women's Association (BIWA) funded the purchase and set up of new playground equipment (climbing frame station and twin see-saws) for a Philanthropic Institute located just outside Busan, referred to as the "Little Village". The Little Village provides shelter and meals for about 20 homeless elderly people most of whom are severely handicapped and about an equal number of orphans who are similarly handicapped. Throughout the project the Institute was visited by supporting organisations on a regular basis to donate food, soaps, toilet papers and other items and also to offer help in daily activities such as cooking, washing and baby sitting.
 

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  International service information

The Rotary Club of Busan Tongbaek has recently funded a Mongolian exchange student who came to Korea for one year to study Korean language and culture. The stay in Korea provided an excellent opportunity for the student to personally experience the relative social and cultural difference and he left Korea highly motivated to seek out ways to better himself whilst promoting business opportunities between the two countries.

The Rotary Club of Busan Tongbaek is also involved in International projects through connection with its sister clubs in New Zealand and China. Up to date text is in preparation. Please visit this page again soon.

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