In the tragic aftermath of the Jeju Airlines flight 2216 crash on 29 December, which took the lives of 175 passengers and four crew members, grieving family members, including young children, gathered at Muan International Airport, in South Korea’s South Jeolla Province, for a long and torturous vigil as they waited for news of the fates of their loved ones.
Recognizing the unique vulnerability of the young children in the face of the distressing events, which led to a period of national mourning in South Korea, international Buddhist NGO ThePromise quickly organized a child-friendly space to provide comfort and support during the emotionally harrowing experience.
“Children require special protection and care, both physically and mentally, compared to adults,” ThePromise chairperson, Buddhist monk Venerable Myojang, noted in a statement shared with BDG. “This play space was designed as a safe haven with onsite psychological experts to ensure that parents and children could feel at ease.
“I hope this space provides even a small measure of comfort to the bereaved families,” Ven. Myojang added. “I extend my deepest condolences and sympathy to the families affected.”
Bereaved family members remained at the airport for about a week, seeking to understand the cause of the crash and to take care of difficult formalities, such as attending official briefings, and identifying and receiving the salvaged belongings of deceased relatives.
“During this period, children were also staying with their parents, so one of the main concerns and needs for the parents was the care of their children . . . including [while] visiting the disaster site, identifying and receiving belongings of the deceased, and occasionally taking a break,” the Seoul-headquartered NGO explained. “Unfortunately, no one was providing such childcare services from the outset, leaving a gap, so ThePromise partnered with volunteer centers, who were responsible for gathering, organizing, and distributing resources, to operate a child-friendly space in the airport.”
ThePromise team members set up a program to provide basic care, mostly for preschool children. Compassionate staff were available to care for the children of bereaved families until 5 January, when the bodies of the deceased were released to their families. Subsequently, management of the child-friendly space was transitioned to Muan County Family Center to ensure that support for children continued to be available as families navigated the consequences of the tragedy.
“The implementation of this space helped minimize the psychological impact on the children, and allowed their parents to focus fully on the administrative process of dealing with the aftermath of the incident,” ThePromise said.
Mr. A, a man in his 30s whose father-in-law was one of the passengers who lost their lives said: “I had to go to work on 2 January to receive the deceased’s belongings. My wife and mother-in-law had nowhere to leave my three-year-old daughter,” he said, adding, ”I was relieved to find there was a space like this.”
Working in collaboration with civil organizations such as the Korean Central Volunteer Center, Jeollanamdo Volunteer Center, and other regional volunteer centers, ThePromise secured a space within the airport building. The volunteers transformed the area into a welcoming environment equipped with toys, art supplies, and educational materials to cater to the children’s emotional and psychological needs.
ThePromise observed that it was still rare for child-friendly spaces to be set up and operated at disaster sites in South Korea, emphasizing that the recent airline tragedy demonstrated that there was a clear need for such spaces. The NGO added that it expected the interest shown by the central and local governments to serve as an important starting point for the more timely provision of such spaces.
“While numerous disaster relief booths were already set up at the airport, there was not a single booth dedicated to children,” ThePromise executive director Donghoon Kim stated. “This highlighted once again how children are often left in blind spots when it comes to care in disaster situations.”
Ven. Myojang established ThePromise in 2008 as a non-profit organization under South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Korea. The NGO, which has Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), is dedicated to providing humanitarian aid worldwide. Its stated mission “is to support communities affected by disasters and emergencies by quickly delivering customized relief supplies and conducting preventive education to prepare for such crises.” (ThePromise)
Since 2015, ThePromise has provided psychosocial support during national and international humanitarian crises and disasters, including: the Gyeongju and Pohang earthquakes in South Korea; 2022 wildfires on South Korea’s east coast; flooding in Jeongbang Village in South Korea; the 2015 Nepal earthquake; Rohingya refugees camps in Bangladesh; and the Türkiye-Syria Earthquakes.
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