[Photo News] Making and sharing Kimchi

Nov. 13, 2013

Organizations volunteer to deliver charcoal bricks

As winter sets in, a variety of organizations have donated charcoal bricks to poor residents across the country. Korea Zinc executives and employees participated in the event held by the Seoul chapter of the Korean Red Cross to deliver 10,000 charcoal bricks to 50 households in the Nowon-gu district of Seoul on Monday. The company workers and Red Cross volunteers lined up to relay the bricks as well as blankets and ramen.In Busan, a regional Buddhist volunteering group joined a philanthropic eve

Nov. 12, 2013

NGO ‘I Love Africa’ launches service corps to drill wells

“I Love Africa,” a nongovernmental organization dedicated to improving the lives of people in Africa, launched a service corps Monday to drill 15 wells in Tanzania. The volunteers will leave for the East African country on Saturday to dig 15 fresh water wells in elementary school yards over a seven-day period. I Love Africa began a campaign in 2011 to explore springs in Africa. It has already set up 22 wells in Tanzania. An additional 15 wells, if dedicated this time, will supply drinking water

Nov. 12, 2013

After growing up on the streets, center founder feeds hungry seniors

In the basement of an old, unnamed building in central Seoul, about 70 seniors line up for free lunch. A man wearing a green apron brings meal to them one by one. This has been the daily routine for Kim Jong-eun, 78, president of Hangil Volunteer Community, for the past 10 years.Kim, now a garment firm owner, was a street beggar himself following his blind mother in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province. “I still vividly remember the days my mom and I suffered from hunger on the streets. Have you ev

Oct. 29, 2013

Insurance firms do diverse pro bono work

Private insurance companies have spent the recent chilly days doing pro bono work and giving back to local communities.About 30 workers from Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance threw a party on Friday afternoon for the 100-day-old celebrations for the baby boy of a poor, single mom living in a welfare shelter in the Seodaemungu district of Seoul.They invited some 100 colleagues and shelter dwellers to the event to brighten up the atmosphere. The party was held in the cafeteria of the insurer’s hea

Oct. 29, 2013

Retired Samsung CEO turns shutterbug for charity, multiculturalism

Han Yong-oe, former president of Samsung Electronics’ home appliance unit and Samsung Community Services, immediately began doing what he loved when he retired in 2009.That year he founded Inclover, a social welfare foundation for multicultural families, with 1 billion won ($935,000) of his own money.Social services and multicultural families were not strange words to Han. He had done a lot of social work for those in need, including multicultural families, when he headed corporate philanthropy

Oct. 15, 2013

High school student forms ensemble to help hearing impaired

Early this month, a deaf teenage boy received a hearing aid, thanks to donations from a handful of fellow teens who used their musical talents to raise money. The seed of their philanthropic act was planted about two years ago when a young clarinetist visited a welfare center as a member of a student volunteer club at his school.“As I talked about helping the physically challenged with my friends while doing volunteer work there, I started to wonder what it would feel like if I wasn’t able to he

Sept. 24, 2013

Textbook sharing program gains popularity

College students in South Korea are running a free textbook rental program as part of efforts to reduce the burden of buying increasingly expensive academic books used in classes. The program named “Dream Library” has become a representative textbook-sharing channel for Sogang University in Seoul, with more students joining the project that spurs used textbooks to be used more effectively and extensively on campus. The free textbook lending program, organized by Sogang’s Student Club Union, allo

Sept. 24, 2013

Actor’s fans donate rice to homeless

Fans of Kim Jeong-hoon, a Korean singer and actor also known in Japan as “John Hoon,” donated 1.12 tons of rice to the homeless, his agency said last Wednesday.They sent the rice to congratulate Kim on landing a role in an upcoming drama series of on a local cable television channel on July 30. The rice was delivered to a theater in Dongdaemun, Seoul, on that day, where the channel presented the show and its cast members to news media. Then, at his fans’ suggestion, the rice was later delivered

Aug. 20, 2013

Homeless baristas brew hope

Won, 59, makes more than 100 cups of coffee every day at a small take-out shop in Yeongdeungpo, southwestern Seoul.For the fledgling barista, Cafe Espresso of My Life is not merely a workplace, but where he started over after years spent on the streets.“I used to live in the darkness but now I feel like I’m waking a bit,” said Won, who declined to give his full name. The cafe, established by the city government, is staffed by two homeless people who have been trained through Seoul’s self-support

Aug. 20, 2013

Woman returns fortune to society

Earning money is not just about acquiring personal wealth for You Hyun-ju. The self-made businesswoman returned her 7 billion won ($6.3 million) poultry business to society in 2011 in the form of social enterprise. She uses 70 percent of its profits for charity and public causes. Nearly half of her employees are poor, elderly and social vulnerable people. “There is no such thing as ownership over money. We can only keep it temporarily,” the chief executive of Doome Sangol Farming told The Korea

July 16, 2013

LG Electronics provides free vaccinations in Ethiopia

LG Electronics has launched a vaccination campaign in Ethiopia that will run until the end of this year. Commencing on International Day of the African Child on June 16, the company has promised to do collaborative projects such as increasing public awareness and providing free vaccinations with International Vaccine Institute to reduce acute diarrhea in major cities in the Oromia region of Ethiopia where there is a high risk of cholera. As part of its efforts, they invited around 50 children an

June 18, 2013

Actress Kim Jung-eun campaigns for children awaiting adoption

Celebrated actress Kim Jung-eun and the Social Welfare Society on Monday held a charity bazaar to promote domestic adoption at the organization’s back garden in southern Seoul. The actress, currently the face of Ttasamo, an entertainers’ charity group, promoted the sales kiosk of baby goods company 0to7. The kiosk sold 250 million won ($220,000) worth of items on the day. The proceeds will go to feed and provide comfortable living environments for infants waiting to be adopted. Ga Hee, former le

June 18, 2013

‘Love before you try to help’

Dr. Choi Kyung-sook has a special tip for medical volunteers: Listen to patients’ stories first, hold their hands and empathize with them. “A human being consists of a body, mind and soul. To treat someone, we need to reach out to all three aspects, not just the body,” the 63-year-old veteran volunteer told The Korea Herald. Realistically, volunteers cannot provide much medical service in one day. But they can love their patients and make their day happy, Choi explained.“Caring heals their souls

June 18, 2013

Comfort women overcome their suffering by easing others’ pain

Two Korean former sex slaves during the Japanese colonial era are raising funds to support other victims of wartime sexual violence around the world. The so-called Butterfly Fund was formed by 87-year-old Kim Bok-dong and 84-year-old Kil Won-ok to support female victims of the Vietnam War and civil wars in Africa, the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan said Monday. The fund sent $6,000 and $4,000 to 43-year-old Euguyen Ban Luang and 43-year-old Euguyen Ti Kim,

June 18, 2013

Tiny social enterprise aims big

Nanum Mill is a tiny rice-cake maker employing only nine people and earning 130 million won ($116,000) in sales. But all in the shop are proudly committed to their goal ― setting an example of how public, private and social sectors can work together to alleviate poverty and cure social ills.The company in Seoul was launched in 2010 with government subsidies and philanthropic support from various institutions. Its revenue has jumped 100 percent each year and employees nearly doubled for the past

May 21, 2013

[Photo News] Cabbies's service

April 16, 2013