Camp Pride Korea, a Korean Culture Camp

Camp Pride is for Korean adoptees, their siblings, children of Korean adoptees, and their families. Camp has a long 30+ year history serving the Korean adoptee community with a summer camp experience and periodic gatherings throughout the year.

Camp is located in Itasca, Illinois about 45 minutes from downtown Chicago, and includes a day camp (grades K-8) and an evening camp with a sleepover (grades 9-12).

What is the purpose of Camp Pride Korea?

• Have fun and build relationships with other Korean-American children and their siblings touched by adoption.

• Develop awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the Korean culture.

• To enhance self-esteem and pride as a member of a Korean adoptive family.

• To provide a friendly, supportive, inclusive, and positive atmosphere for all participants.

 

What would my child do at camp?

For five days children ages Pre K to 8th grade are together with other Korean-American children and their families learning about the culture by preparing traditional Korean dishes, exploring the arts and legends of the culture.  The children create a daily art project often reflective of the Lunar New Year zodiac signs and many other key elements of the culture.  Children have their choice of attending daily fan dancing or tae kwon do classes.  Children also learn to play traditional Korean drums and paint Korean calligraphy. They are provided tools to learn key phrases and the Korean alphabet, while listening to traditional stories and fables handed down for generations by our beloved storyteller.

High-school aged campers (grades 9-12) attend a variety of community and Korean related field-trips that culminate with an overnight sleepover.  Together the campers and parents learn and find camaraderie from this larger community of fellow Korean-American adoptee families.

How is Camp Pride Korea managed and operated?

Camp is run by parent volunteers under the direction of the steering committee and the coordinators. Parents will find volunteering a valuable experience – learning about Korea including food, art, culture and traditions, experiencing the Korean community with other parents. All campers will receive a camp shirt. 

Camp Pride is grateful for the generous support from Chicago Area Families for Adoption (CAFFA), Korean adoptee volunteers and partners from Korean Adoptees of Chicago (KAtCH), and the generous partial funding of our high school program from Overseas Koreans Foundation (OKF).