The news that lunches for children in Seogwipo, Jeju Province, who would otherwise go without regular meals are outrageously inadequate for youth whose bodies are still growing is shocking. In Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, students were given "geonppang (biscuit) lunches," and in some areas, students who receive lunches as part of a government program for those who go without have had their meal tickets taken from them by adults.
People who have learned of the news, and in particular Netizens, say they are hurt to see what has taken place and are angrily demanding those responsible for the inadequate lunches be punished and that poor students receive quality lunches. Another problem is the terribly typical evasiveness of the bureaucrats responsible. As usual, they blame their budgets. The budget for poor student lunches is W2,500 each. In Seogwipo, they say that if you exclude the cost of the containers, delivery costs, other labor costs, and profit, the ingredients alone has been costing W1,400. An official in Gunsan, which has been giving children the "biscuit lunches," actually says Gunsan's lunches "aren't that bad for the price." Looking at the costs involved, however, former entrepreneurs in the school lunch business say that in the case of the Seogwipo lunches, no matter how high you round costs upwards, they should not have been costing any more than W1,600. The claim that budgets are the problem is not convincing when you think of how soldiers and conscripted policemen eat lunches costing around W1,500 and W1,600, and they all have big appetites. Go looking in any neighborhood and it is not difficult to find something substantial to eat for W2,500.
This controversy must not be allowed to fade away without being given proper attention. The national government needs to investigate what happened and punish those responsible, and then follow up with by revamping youth lunch programs to make them more efficient. Increasing spending for that would come next.
In our society we have on the one hand a problem with over-nourishment and obesity, while on the other hand a child recently starved to death in a closet. It is time that the whole of our society pool its wisdom together to resolve the gap between rich and poor. It is shameful that in times like these, there are cases where older people have actually been snatching poor students' lunch money
The Hankyoreh, 14 January 2005.
[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]
