HOUSTON.-Drug use is escalating among second-generation Koreans-the children of immigrants-and even some parents are succumbing to addictive behaviors."We are losing the second generation," Ki Tak Kim of Korean Baptist Church in Sonoma County, Calif., said during the Korean Council of Southern Baptist Churches in America's June 18-20 annual meeting in Houston."This is growing so fast. Before we understand English, the drugs are in our kids."The problem is compounded by the fact that in the Korean culture, people don't talk about addiction being in their family, or in their church family, because to do so would be to lose face, said Kim and Man Poong Kim (no relation) of Global Mission Church in Silver Springs, Md."I see some of the senior adults in serious condition," Kim of Maryland said. "I see some of them addicted to gambling, alcohol, nicotine and drugs too."Because of the gravity of the problem, both Kims and S.B. Park, pastor of Korean Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., have banded together to address the problem.The solution, the pastors told the Korean annual meeting, involves education, intervention, counseling, residential treatment and, most importantly, prevention-an effort that calls for Southern Baptists of all ethnic backgrounds to work together.The three pastors are planning to meet in July to determine the steps necessary to organize as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and to develop plans for Korean-produced video and print educational materials to inform Koreans about drug abuse and how to deal with it among any family members struggling with it.
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HOUSTON.-Drug use is escalating among second-generation Koreans-the children of immigrants-and even some parents are succumbing to addictive behaviors."We are losing the second generation," Ki Tak Kim of Korean Baptist Church in Sonoma County, Calif., said during the Korean Council of Southern Baptist Churches in America's June 18-20 annual meeting in Houston."This is growing so fast. Before we understand English, the drugs are in our kids."The problem is compounded by the fact that in the Korean culture, people don't talk about addiction being in their family, or in their church family, because to do so would be to lose face, said Kim and Man Poong Kim (no relation) of Global Mission Church in Silver Springs, Md."I see some of the senior adults in serious condition," Kim of Maryland said. "I see some of them addicted to gambling, alcohol, nicotine and drugs too."Because of the gravity of the problem, both Kims and S.B. Park, pastor of Korean Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., have banded together to address the problem.The solution, the pastors told the Korean annual meeting, involves education, intervention, counseling, residential treatment and, most importantly, prevention-an effort that calls for Southern Baptists of all ethnic backgrounds to work together.The three pastors are planning to meet in July to determine the steps necessary to organize as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and to develop plans for Korean-produced video and print educational materials to inform Koreans about drug abuse and how to deal with it among any family members struggling with it.
