Korean helps kids to brighter future with English libraries on Thai border For children born in Umpiem Mai refugee camp , it can be difficult to imagine a world outside the hilly settlement on the Thai - Burmese border . Some have never even seen a settlement outside the shacks their Burmese families have lived in since the camp opened in 1999 . Now , one Korean man is giving these kids hope and a glimpse of other worlds by stocking libraries with thousands of books . Cho Kyoung - jae has collected more than 3 , 000 books for four libraries helping the refugees learn English and study for a better life . As well as supplying language textbooks , Cho has collected story books such as Gulliver ’ s Travels , Peter Pan and Harry Potter . “ Through these books , children can have more imagination and dreams and know the world outside the camps they are stuck in , ” he said . Cho ’ s mission started after a research project took him to Umpiem Mai , in Maesot city , in 2007 . Around 16 , 000 refugees ― most of them from the Karen ethnic group ― live in the camp 10 kilometers from the country they fled to escape war and the oppressive military regime . They are banned from leaving the Thai government - run camp at the risk of being deported . Shocked by the poor living conditions there , he started visiting more of the nine camps in northern Thailand . The camps have a total population of around 209 , 000 refugees , who have fled poverty and oppression in Burma ― officially named Myanmar by its military junta . “ The general living situation in the camps is so poor , ” said Cho . “ Refugees are receiving everything from the U . N . and NGOs including foods , medicine , clothes , and educational materials . Although they can survive at minimum , there is nothing to do inside the camps . ” As well as problems of malnutrition and a lack of medical supplies , refugee children also lack a sound educational system due to a lack of space , resources and qualified teachers . Cho said the best way to leave the camps was through resettlement programs , and by gaining refugee status in third countries , which are often English speaking . More than 60 percent of refugees departing for third countries go to the U . S . “ Many students are born in the camp , ” said Cho , who said that almost half of Umpiem Mai ’ s inhabitants were under the age of 17 . “ They really want to go out of the camp and want to see the outside world . As a result , some teenagers escape from the camp sites and go out to the border city or go to Bangkok . However , their status is illegal so they face dangerous problems like ( becoming ) illegal migrant workers and some young girls become sex workers . . .. So I think education is the only hope to make better life for them and their children to leave from refugee camps . “ As a result , English is essential for their future safety , quality resettlement and better life , ” he said . Cho , who worked at the Busan office of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea before starting his current international human rights law studies in the U . K . , emailed friends and colleagues asking for donations of books . His request gained momentum throughout 2008 and he collected more than 1 , 500 books including textbooks , magazines and novels , with Thai Airways agreeing to transport the books from Korea for free . “ The head teacher said that the books were so important to teach their students English so she wanted to have a library to store those books , ” Cho said . “ As a result , I named this library Book for Dream Library because through reading here , they may know the outside world and someday they would come out from this camp to achieve their dreams . From this , the Book for Dream project was started . ” Now , there are two libraries in Umpiem refugee camp as well as one in Maesot , and one in Marhongson city . People in Thailand have also been contributing books through a donation drive in Bangkok . Although Cho has raised some money to help refugees and the building of the libraries , his main focus is on providing language - learning resources . “ Actually , I have a big dream that one day I can build up an NGO named Book for Dream and set up a social enterprise to fund learning opportunities and materials for those in need , ” he said . Anyone wishing to donate books or find out more about helping the project can email Cho kj 3854 @ gmail . com or go to the website : en . bookfordream . org . Donations of any type of English books can be sent to : 602 ho 122 dong , LG Metrocity 1 cha Yongho 1 - dong , Namgu , Busan , Korea , 608 - 890 . By Kirsty Taylor ( kirstyt @ heraldm . com )