Citibank Korea makes gimjang kimchi with foreign immigrants

SEOUL--(Korea Newswire)--Citibank Korea (CEO Yung-Ku Ha, www.citibank.co.kr) made gimjang kimchi at the free meal service center of Global Sarang (President Hae-Seong Kim) located in Garibong-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul on November 17, 2012.

Gimjang kimchi made with 3,000 cabbages will be served at the free meal center where many foreign immigrant workers and Chinese of Korean descent visit and also be delivered to households of low-income foreign immigrants. For foreign immigrants, Kimchi is essential both to adapting to and understanding the Korean culture as well as to their dining tables. As this program marks the second year, some 30 CKI employees made kimchi together with foreign immigrants, sharing Korean culture and cheering them up who are away from home and working hard in Korea.

Global Sarang is an NGO that supports multi-cultural families and foreign immigrants. Since last year, CKI has been funding the free meal service center run by Global Sarang. From last March, CKI employees regularly volunteer to serve meals at the free meal service center every third Saturday of the month. In addition, its management and the union initiated donating matching funds to every 10,000 won an employee donates. As a result, CKI donated 40 million won last September to make group homes of Global Sarang for teaching and nursing children from multi-cultural families.

As the year is nearing its end, CKI employees started a series of year-end volunteer activities every weekend to help those in need in our local communities. As its first activity, it engaged in serving free meals for Dail Community, known for its Baffor movement on November 11, 2012. It will be followed by Gimjang kimchi making on November 17, and briquette delivery at Guryong Village jointly held by the management and the union on November 24. It plans a free noodle meal service at Secho-Gangnam chapter of Korea Red Cross on December 1, and cultural performance and volunteering at Gyemyeongwon in Ganghwa-do on the next day.

In-Gwang Yeo of CKI Secho Joongang Branch, who has been participating in the year-end volunteer programs said, “I have been volunteering with my wife and my teenage son. I learn a lot by volunteering to help our neighbors in need. It is all the more rewarding as our family gets closer and tighter while participating in these programs.” He added, “We are going to make gimjang kimchi with foreign immigrants this weekend. I hope that this experience will help my son understand diversity and learn to get along with diverse people from adolescent years.”

Website: http://www.citibank.co.kr

This is a news release distributed by Korea Newswire on behalf of this company.