The Words of the Ward Family

Letter to Parents of Prospective GOP students

Alexa Ward
April 2009

Dear Parents of Prospective GOP Students,

Thank you for your interest in having your child attend the General Orientation Program (GOP) in Seoul, South Korea for the school year 2009 -- 2010. GOP is the name of the first year program of the Institute of Korean Studies for Foreign Students. The program consists of a dormitory called the World Student Garden of Brothers and Sisters, which is on the campus of the Sun Hwa School in Seoul. The classrooms used by the GOP program are located in the Sun Hwa School. The director of the Institute is Mr. Kim Jung Woo. The Western Program Director couple for the Western students is Abdoulaye and Sybil Wone.

This program gives Blessed children of Unification families the precious opportunity to spend at least one year in Korea. They live in a dormitory with other Western students, and share the facility with students from Japan. They are introduced to Korean language, grammar, and culture. They keep up with most of their Western subjects as well. They experience the heart of Koreans through the teachers and staff, as well as on exciting and fun school trips. They deepen their identity as Blessed children and make lifelong friendships. They experience Unification culture and traditions in the Fatherland and begin to develop their own life of faith.

Applications are now being accepted for the school year beginning in September 2009 for those Blessed children who will be between 12 and 13 years of age, entering seventh or eighth grades, on September 1st, 2009. You will find that the entire application process is online.

Please go to the section entitled Overview of the Application Process for an overview as well as for instructions for completing the application process. Please complete the application process by April 30, 2009. There is a $35.00 nonrefundable application fee in order to process your application. Please pay special attention to the section on Tuition for next year. If you have any questions, please contact Alexa Ward, or you may leave a message for her at the WFWP, USA national office.

With warm regards,

Alexa Ward

Vice President, FFWPU, USA

General Information

1. Name of the Program

General Orientation Program (GOP), which is one of several programs of the Institute of Korean Studies for Foreign Students

2. Director

Mr. Kim Jung Woo is the Director of the Institute of Korean Studies for Foreign Students.

3. Western Program Co-Directors (Head dorm parents)

Abdoulaye and Sybil Wone

4. Department Responsible in the US

Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, USA
Rev. In Jin Moon, President and CEO
Bishop Ki Hoon Kim, Continental Director
Alexa Ward, FFWPU Representative

5. Number of Western students being admitted to GOP 2009-2010

The total will be around 30/35 for the Western program.
It will be a mixture of boys and girls primarily from the U.S. and from Europe.

*School Management retains the right to add or subtract from the numbers provided.

6. School beginning and ending dates:

The School will begin in the first week of September, 2009
The School will end around July 10th, 2010

7. Qualifications for new applicants:

Students must be second generation or Jacob’s children.

Students should be between 12 and 13 years of age on September 1st, 2009. The program has taken students who are older as well as younger on a case by case basis.

8. Application process

Please read the section entitled Overview of the Application Process

9. Deadline:

April 30, 2009

10. Tuition

Please read the section entitled Tuition. The program will not accept applications from families who carry any outstanding debt from previous years

11. For more information:

The Administration of the GOP Application process for 2009-2010 will be managed by Alexa Ward.

Criteria for Acceptance

We understand the heart of parents who are concerned about the negative influences of the deteriorating moral culture of the West on their children, especially with the influences of drugs, alcohol and sexual activity running rampant in the public schools. Our school may appear as a haven from those troubles in many ways. However, this school is not a place to send children as a last resort, to rescue them from severe spiritual, emotional or behavioral problems.

We are ill-equipped, both professionally and in terms of staff numbers, to handle situations that can arise from children who need that kind of special attention.

Primarily, this school is best suited for children with high academic ability, emotional maturity and strong desire to live in Korea and learn the language of the Fatherland and the culture of True Parents.

Children who cannot adapt well to the academic rigors and strict schedule of mandatory daily morning and evening services, dorm chores, study times and Sunday services, only end up struggling and sometimes having to go back home in the middle of the year.

Please sincerely consider if your child is ready and able to adjust to the demanding lifestyle and requirements of this school before you apply.

All applications will be considered on their own merit, however, preference will be given to those applicants who fulfill the following criteria:

1.) high academic achievement
2.) families that have a history of participating in public missions
3.) families that have not had the opportunity to send a child to the program

GOP Fees 2009-2010

Total cost for the 11-month GOP program:

The estimated annual fee is 10,281,000 Won (about $7,345 with exchange rate at 1400 Won for $1). Extra-curricular expenses such as music classes, major medical or dental expenses, traveling expenses, passport and visa expenses in students’ home countries are not covered by the above-mentioned fees.

A. There is a $240 one time annual administrative fee payable to HSA UWC on August 15, 2009. Please prepare a check to send to:

HSA-UWC Financial Office
Attention: Mrs. Asae Sattinger
4 West 43rd Street
New York, New York 10036

Expenses related to this fee cover the administration of the western program, including:

1. a stipend for the administrator,
2. the cost of two round trip tickets from the USA to Korea to visit the program, and
3. Office expenses: telephone, application process, etc.

B. The GOP fees, determined by the Korean and Western staff on an annual basis, are due in four quarterly payments, according to the following schedule: August 15, October 15, January 15, and April 15. All fees are itemized in the following pages.

First Quarter (August 25-October 31, 2009)

Quarterly Fees

Tuition 360,000 Won/month X 2 720,000 Won

Room and Board 350, 000 Won/ month X 2 700,000 Won

Western Office operation 30,000 Won/ month X 2 60,000 Won

Parents account money 80,000 Won/ month X 2 160,000 Won

Subtotal 1,640,000 Won

One time fees

Entrance: Covers 11 field trips, Korean textbooks 400,000 Won

Dorm maintenance 100,000 Won

Immigration for visas 100,000 Won

Uniforms 200,000 Won

Western textbooks 65,000 Won

Two Chung Pyung trips 60,000 Won

Administrative fee (for the full year) 336,000 Won

Subtotal 1,261,000 Won

Total (Due August 15, 2009) 2,901,000 Won

To HSA-UWC in the USA (about $240) 336,000 Won

To the program in Korea (about $1,833) (Exchange rate at 1400 Won for $1USD) 2,565,000 Won

Second Quarter

(November 1, 2009-January 31, 2010)

Tuition 360,000 Won/month X 3 1,080,000 Won

Room and Board 350, 000 Won/ month X 3 1,050,000 Won

Western Office operation 30,000 Won/ month X 3 90,000 Won

Parents account money 80,000 Won/ month X 3 240,000 Won

Total (Due October 15, 2009) (about $1,758) 2,460,000 Won

Third Quarter

(February 1 -- April 3, 2010)

Tuition 360,000 Won/month X 3 1,080,000 Won

Room and Board 350, 000 Won/ month X 3 1,050,000 Won

Western Office operation 30,000 Won/ month X 3 90,000 Won

Parents account money 80,000 Won/ month X 3 240,000 Won

Total (Due January 15, 2010) (about $1,758) 2,460,000 Won

Fourth Quarter

(May 1-July, 2010)

Tuition 360,000 Won/month X 3 1,080,000 Won

Room and Board 350, 000 Won/ month X 3 1,050,000 Won

Western Office operation 30,000 Won/ month X 3 90,000 Won

Parents account money 80,000 Won/ month X 3 240,000 Won

Total (Due April 15, 2010) (about $1,758) 

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