The Lotte Scholarship Foundation will provide 100 million won ($70,000) in living expenses and Korean-language education to Koryo-saram children and teenagers living in South Korea.
The foundation said on Oct. 16 that it held the 2026 Shin Kyuk-ho Lotte Koryo-saram Support Program handover ceremony on Oct. 15 at Korea House in Seoul's Jung District. Chang Hye-sun, chairwoman of the foundation, attended the ceremony, along with Eo Jeong-wook, head of ESG and social contribution partnerships at Good Neighbors; Jo Yu-ri, chair of the social and legal affairs committee at the Korean Association of Koryo-saram; and Yoon Min-jung, head of the Koryo-saram support network Arirang.
Launched this year for the first time, the program aims to help Koryo-saram settle securely in South Korea and to pass on the historical significance of their experience to future generations. Koryo-saram are ethnic Koreans who settled in Russia and Central Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries, and their descendants. According to the Overseas Koreans Agency, the number of Koryo-saram living in South Korea rose sharply to about 107,000 in 2024 from about 21,000 in 2013. As a result, language acquisition, school life and academic adjustment have emerged as challenges for Koryo-saram children and teenagers.
Working with Good Neighbors, a global non-governmental organization specializing in children's rights, the foundation selected 65 children and teenagers from at-risk families in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, where about half of the Koryo-saram population in South Korea lives. Support takes the form of living expenses and Korean-language education, reflecting the needs identified by Koryo-saram organizations in each region. The language program is tailored to each student's level. Beginners receive worksheet-based instruction focused on basic theory, while intermediate and advanced students take part in experiential learning such as visits to local libraries and literacy education using storybooks. Korean proficiency assessments will be conducted before and after the program to check learning outcomes.
In her opening remarks, Chang said the lives of Koryo-saram ancestors, who overcame countless hardships in an unfamiliar land to build a new home, and that of late Honorary Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho, who forged a new path in Japan, both embody a spirit of challenge and pioneering. "Our foundation wants to carry on that spirit and support the new future that you and the next generation will build in Korea," the chairwoman said.
Separately, the foundation this year launched the Chang Hye-sun Lotte Emergency Support for North Korean Defectors in Crisis, a program for defectors who, like Koryo-saram, face difficulties settling into South Korean society. It provides living costs, housing expenses, legal aid, psychological counseling and education fees.