As more and more migrant workers arrive in Korea and many more Koreans get married to foreign spouses, our society needs more than ever to understand different cultures. To facilitate this cultural understanding, BC Card is sponsoring events for families with multicultural backgrounds.
On Sunday December 7, the company invited up to 700 multicultural family members to the Korea International Exhibition Center (or KINTEX) in Ilsan for a festival in cooperation with the Community Chest of Korea. Other co-sponsoring organizations include the Korea Alliance for Multicultural Families, the Support Center for Healthy Homes, and the Support Center for Multicultural Families.
This event, as part of BC Card’s Corporate Responsibility initiatives entitled “Creating Hope with a Red Apple,” began with a parade of people wearing the traditional costumes of different countries, followed by family photos, Korean traditional games, and cookie decorating.
To one side, a trampoline zone was set up for children to bounce up and down while desks and computers were set up to enable people to send messages to their home countries. Other activities such as caricature-drawing and face-painting sessions were also held.
The Westin Chosun Hotel provided lunches for the event participants who received their meals from red carts prepared with different dishes from many different countries. BC Card President Chang Hyung-Duk was also on the volunteer team, serving food and playing games with the participants.
A surprise happening was scheduled at 2 pm. A migrant worker suffering from a brain tumor had the chance to be reunited with her parents for the day. Another foreign worker was given a flight ticket back to her home. The day lasted from 10 am to 3:30 pm and ended with the lighting of the Christmas tree and gift-giving by Santa Clauses.
BC Card President Chang said, “All of us chipped in for this small event to support families with cultural difficulties. I would like this occasion to serve for all of us in Korea to think about international culture and foreigners working in this country.”
Kim Dong-Su, the President of the Community Chest of Korea, said, “Multicultural families experience problems due to cultural differences and language barriers. This festival could become the starting point for all family members to understand each other better.”
