Sharing Kimchi Made with Love
(Published November 15, 2012)

The Government’s Saemaul Women’s Association gathers 300 volunteers for “Warm Winter Kimchi Sharing”

◇ November 15: Warm Winter Kimchi Sharing” volunteer Nguyen Thi Ngan (left) and other mothers from multicultural families. ⓒ G-News Plus News Heo Seon-ryang
 
Nguyen Thi Ngan (22, Suwon) moved to Korea two years ago after marrying a Korean man. Now a mother of one son, she is busy making kimchi. As she is new to making kimchi, she is helped by a group of experienced homemakers.

She raised a head of seasoned cabbage for us to see, saying, “It is cold outdoors but I am glad I got a chance to learn how to make kimchi with my neighbors. I am going to take this home and share it with my family.” She had a big smile on her face.
 
Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Saemaul Center, along with the Gyeonggi Saemaul Women’s Association and thirty-one other regional women’s associations brought together 300 volunteers for the “Warm Winter Kimchi Sharing” event this November 14 and 15 in the quad of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Complex. Gyeonggi Province provides support to thirty-one women’s associations throughout the region, who in turn participate in the program. This is the third edition of the annual event.

This year’s event was made special by the participation of fifty homemakers from multicultural families from Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, and China. The Semaeul Women’s Association in Pyeongtaek served barbecued pork and hot soup to the volunteers working out in the cold.

The kimchi was packed into 1,000 boxes (5kg each) and sent out to 500 senior citizens living alone. One hundred of them will go to various welfare facilities and the fifty families that participated in the event.◇ Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo and his wife Seol Nan-yeong (right) lending a hand at the November 15 event. ⓒ G-News Plus Heo Seon-ryang
 
Seol Nan-yeong (Governor Kim Moon-soo’s wife) participated in the event on November 15th, saying, “I wanted to share love and send out a message of hope. I want to thank the ladies of the Saemaeul Women’s Association for working so hard on a cold winter day.”
 
Kim Suk-hui, leader of the Gyeonggi Women’s Association, had this to say: “This event is still in its trial stages. Our plan is to have 31 districts and 548 cities make kimchi each year and hand it out to families in need. The goal is to distribute 320,000 heads of napa cabbage kimchi. We will also implement more programs aimed at creating a friendly neighborhood.”
 
The Saemaul Center and the Saemaeul Women’s Association made New Year’s rice cake soup and rice cakes with bean stuffing and distributed them throughout the neighborhood along with briquettes, helped fix wrecked homes, and handed out lunch to children under a friendly neighborhood project titled “Happy Korea Movement.”
 
The local government has chipped in to help 114,665 single senior citizens under the “Single Senior Citizens Assistance Project.” The Gyeonggi Provincial Government signed a business contract with the Saemaeul Center this month, and conducted visits to 17,000 single senior citizens twice a month, and stayed in contact with them by phone.
 
A local official said, “We are going to focus on developing projects with the Saemaeul Center to help our needy neighbors, and set a good example for the rest of the nation.”◇ Members of the Saemaeul Women’s Association busy making kimchi. The kimchi made during this event was donated to 1,000 homes across the province. ⓒ G-News Plus Heo Seon-ryang
 
ⓒ G-News Plus News | Roh Kyeong-hui khrohh@kg21.net
 
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