"Weracle" Park We's volunteer work in Kenya was claimed to have actually been a vision trip. However, Park We never introduced the video in question as volunteer work in the first place.
On the 12th, one outlet reported that "Weracle"'s Park We and his wife, Song Ji-eun, visited Kenya not for volunteer work but for a vision trip.
A vision trip is a program in which Compassion Korea, an international child development organization, visits countries where it supports children to tour local offices, centers and homes and observe the process by which sponsorship funds and letters are delivered and the living conditions of the children.
According to the report, Compassion Korea clearly distinguishes vision trips from volunteer work. It does not operate separate domestic or international volunteer programs, and it states that volunteer work is not conducted during vision trips. Participants are also reported to receive a certificate of participation in an experiential program rather than a volunteer service certificate.
As controversy over Park We's criticism of public service workers has continued, his past videos have been reexamined, and netizens poured out criticism of the video from Kenya with comments such as "He came back having received service."
But Park We did not introduce the video as "volunteer work." He titled the video "How one child changed our lives," and the video focused on highlighting the situations of young children living in poor areas rather than performing volunteer work.
Although it was not volunteer work, some have described the part about visiting children in poor conditions as "volunteer work," which has led to unnecessary misunderstandings piling up. Park We has not made any significant statement yet, but since the trip itself was a vision trip rather than volunteer work, indiscriminate criticism and condemnation should be avoided.
Meanwhile, last month Park We uploaded to the "Weracle" channel footage claiming that while using the KTX a public service worker who helped him had his foot caught by the wheelchair on the ramp when disembarking, releasing CCTV footage at the time and drawing backlash.
Park We apologized, saying, "I failed to consider the position of the worker who tried their best to help me and politely apologized. I viewed the mistake that occurred in the process of trying to help me better in only a negative light. My way of conveying it was inexperienced and my thinking was short," but he is suffering repercussions, including resigning as a Seoul city publicity ambassador and the cancellation of scheduled lectures.
[OSEN]