International Community

UNESCO Kona: Stories Add Colors to Our Imagination

Gwangju News

Written and Photos By Shilpa Rani

We all love stories. One thing that we all remember about childhood is the stories we read or heard, or the stories we made up. I made up a lot of stories to remember things, even mathematical tables. I remember the joy and wonder I felt at the imaginative worlds into which stories took me. I loved stories as a child, but as I grew older, I somehow lost that fairy dust and wonder and imagination. But when I became a mom, my own childhood joys started to resurface. I wanted to give my child memories that he could relish when he got older, and to my luck my little one loved to read books. On Saturdays we visited UNESCO-KONA, where my son Adhrit could share/read books with other children as a part of a buddy reading program. He enjoyed all the love and affection from the student volunteers whom he called brothers and sisters, and thus began our journey in KONA.

I strongly believe that one of the best ways to understand the culture of a country is through folklore and story narratives. At KONA, I shared stories from India from the book of stories called Panchatantra, which has simple moral stories for kids. I not only shared stories from my country but also heard and read folk stories from Korea. I was able to meet lovely people from other countries (Canada, Japan, Turkey, Australia, China and USA) and hear the stories from their countries. I was happy for the student volunteers, since meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures removes fear about foreigners from their minds. They learn to be more caring and loving about the world when they realize that even though people may look different, we are all part of the huge universal family.

The student volunteers at UNESCO-KONA not only learn a foreign language through storybooks and visual learning, they are also exposed to public speaking and presentation skills. The student volunteers at KONA got an opportunity to read stories for the Radio Star program of Gwangju Foreign Network (GFN). Professor Kim was very kind to give an opportunity to Adhrit, who was just two and a half years old at the time, to participate. As a mom, I was a little nervous about my son’s mood and behavior at the time of the recording, but since he had been trained to use a microphone at KONA, he was pretty confident and did a fairly good job. KONA also introduced us to the Children’s English Library where we read books together to other children. This experience was both very joyful and sad to me: joyful because I was in the presence of so much knowledge, and a little sad because it made me think about the lack of this kind of facility for millions of kids in underdeveloped countries.

In addition to the monthly program, I was pleased to be a part of the 2015 Gwangju World Storybook Festival at Pungyeongjeong Pavilion, organized by UNESCO-KONA. It was a very memorable experience in nature, under the very old trees which have seen Gwangju transforming in so many ways. Continuing my journey as a KONA member I plan to volunteer at the Gwangju Children’s Home along with Mrs. Park in the year ahead. Buddy reading with the young kids reminds me of my own carefree childhood and a heart which thought of limitless possibilities in life. Above all that KONA does for children, it encourages them to dream and reinforces that dreams come true.

UNESCO KONA Volunteers of KONA Storybook Center

UNESCO KONA Volunteers of KONA Storybook Center is a registered organization that helps underprivileged kids to learn English independently through storybooks and story-maps.

We are looking for long-term volunteers who desire to enrich their lives. We are asking volunteers to commit to helping at least once a month: one Friday or Saturday evening, Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon per month. (Please check the days and locations below). Foreign volunteers who are interested in practicing their Korean and learning more about Korean culture with Korean children are welcome to stay at the center on any Saturday afternoons for a short cultural exchange. If you have any picture books, storybooks, puppets and any educational items, we accept all donations in order to distribute them to the local children’s homes or community children’s centers in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province.

The days and locations of the facilities are as follows:

  1. Every Saturday afternoon / 3–5pm, Location: KONA Storybook Center:  코나 스토리북센터, Seogu, Sangil-ro 42, Ssangchongdong, 062-434-9887)
  2. Every Saturdays afternoon / 1-2pm, Location: Children’s English Library (어린이영어도서관, Seo-gu, Ssangchon-dong, 062-380-8843-4)
  3. Every Saturday afternoon / 3-5pm, Location: Gwangju Children’s Home (광주애육원, Bukgu, Dongnimdong, 062-513-0859)
  4. 4th Friday afternoons / 3-5pm, Location: Grandmother’s Community Children’s Center (외할머니댁 지역아동센터, Bukgu, Punghyangdong, 062-524-2076)
  5. 2nd Sunday afternoons / 3-5pm, Location: Gwangju International Center 광주국제교류센터 (Dongu, Jungang-ro, 196, Geumnam-ro 3-ga)

For more information, please visit

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