'A Barefoot Dream' and Real-Life Opportunities
SEOUL, June 6, 2010 - Asia Society Korea Center in coordination with Seoul Global Center hosted a special invitation-only preview of the film A Barefoot Dream for multicultural families in Korea.
A Barefoot Dream recounts the story of a retired soccer player and an unsuccessful businessman who travels to East Timor with shallow intentions—to make a quick buck. However, when he encounters children on the streets playing soccer, his nostalgia for the sport beckons him to teach them the game properly. The movie is based on a true story of a Korean soccer coach who led the East Timorese youth soccer team to win an international championship.
On a related note, Asia Society Korea Center is working together with Seoul Global Center and the UNHCR to provide a scholarship for the children of mixed families. The scholarship, designed to raise awareness in Korean society about the difficulty of growing up as a mixed-race child, encourages new attitudes and views on multicultural families. The scholarship also hopes to help people overcome local prejudices against mixed households.