By Paul Kerry
To mark World AIDS Day, Little Travellers and Medi peace are holding three simultaneous rock concerts in Seoul tomorrow to spread awareness about the illness.
Last year saw a similar event. More than 1,000 people attended, raising 12 million won ($10,000) for the Little Travellers organization.
The event will be held at Jane's Groove, FF and DGBD, in Hongdae. The EV Boys, Rock Tigers, Gogo Star and Sotto Gamba will be among the dozen or so bands performing. Wristbands are 10,000 won.
The money will go to the Hillcrest Foundation, which helps women affected by AIDS in South Africa
Little Travellers is a Canadian charity that sells dolls made by women in South Africa who are affected by HIV. Forty percent of the proceeds go to the makers of the cute little dolls - one-inch beaded figures that can be used as badges or mobile phone attachments - which sell for 5,000 won. The remainder goes to patients at Hillcrest's respite center, which cares for sufferers in the late stages of AIDS.
"I got involved because I'm interested in helping women from other countries," said Sue Bullas, who is helping to organize the event.
"It's not just women who suffer from the disease directly," said Bullas. "It's also women who, for example, have a family member with the disease and are affected."
The Korean arm of the group said it has raised 28 million won ($25,000) for the Hillcrest Centre Trust, while the Canadian group has raised more than $200,000.
Medi peace are jointly organizing the event. They say that their status - they claim to be the only international medical NGO based in Korea - has helped secure sponsorship. The Korea Center for Disease Control paid for some of the materials used.
Earlier tomorrow, Medi peace will be hosting an interactive workshop at Hansung Education Center in Daehangno. The event will discuss issues of discrimination and aim to spread awareness about the disease.
Ben Wagner, professor of law at Kyung Hee University, will speak after the workshop on HIV and discrimination.
While the event is held on a weekend to ensure good attendance, World AIDS day fell on Dec. 1. Medi peace volunteers held a stall Tuesday in Cheongye Plaza to help spread information about AIDS and promote tomorrow's event.
Ashley Sung, Medi peace program officer said that prejudices and basic misconceptions about AIDS and HIV were still common in Korea.
"There is still a stigma. We are handing out leaflets and tissues, but people don't want to take them. Many Koreans still think that you can catch AIDS by touching," she said.
"I told people 'why not come to Hongdae?' But they thought it was only for people with HIV. They thought that all the people there would have HIV and they were worried that they might touch them."
A pressure group demanding tighter screening of foreign teachers last year said that the majority of visitors to a Seoul clinic asking for HIV tests were foreign nationals, claiming the statistic to be an indication of promiscuity or of being infected with the virus. The comment was repeated in the press and elsewhere - an indication that some in Korea think that simply getting tested is a sign of bad character.
The volunteers, some dressed as condoms, handed out tissues, leaflets and condoms, and had a stand where people could learn the facts about HIV. Little Traveller dolls were also on sale, and there was information about what the charity does and the people it was trying to help.
"AIDS is not only in Africa, but still Africa has the most serious situation, so we are starting with South Africa," said Sung.
Of the world's 36 million people living with HIV and AIDS, 25 million of them live in sub-Saharan Africa. According to Little Travellers, the prevalence of HIV in South Africa is 15-20 percent, and 800 people die every day in South Africa from AIDS related causes.
This is something not helped by lack of awareness in government. The country's former president, Thabo Mbeki, questioned the link between HIV and AIDS and his health minister promoted nutrition above medication. Suppliers of vitamins and nutritional supplements have distributed advertisements saying that antiviral drugs do more harm than good and accusing drug companies of genocide.
In the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, where the Hillcrest Foundation operates, more than 40 percent of adults are infected.
By contrast, according to the World Health Organization, the number of people with HIV in Korea was estimated at around 13,000, meaning that it is still relatively rare in Korea. Medi peace Cho Min-jung said that the low prevalence of the disease meant that some people did not feel the need to understand it properly.
"The prevalence rate of HIV in Korea is low, so people don't think about it so much. The fact that the prevalence is low is a good thing, but it means that people think it doesn't affect them," she said.
The events tomorrow evening will be based around music with twelve bands set to perform. Bullas said that they were particularly please to get the Rock Tigers to perform, as well as EV Boys, as there were doubts that they would be available.
"We were pretty excited to get the EV Boys because they're a good draw and they help to get Koreans and expats enjoying themselves together. That's really one of the things we're trying to achieve," she said.
Little Travellers dolls will also be on sale, and there will be other activities to highlight the issues surrounding AIDS in Korea and globally.
"We've been told that 99 percent of the HIV transmitted in Korea is transmitted through sex. So we're going to have people dressed up as condoms handing out leaflets and condoms," said Bullas.
"We want people to know that there are people in other countries who are suffering, and that for the cost of a drink we can help make their lives a little bit easier."
A complete lineup and more information about the event can be found at rubberseoul2009.wordpress.com
Information about Little Travellers can be fund at www.littletravellers.net .