World Vision, an international relief and development NGO, announced Wednesday that it held a donation ceremony Tuesday at its headquarters in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, together with Hyundai Department Store and the Korea National Trust for Natural Environment.
The ceremony was organized to share results from a customer-participation environmental campaign called "Own Your Tidal Flat," which Hyundai Department Store ran last year in partnership with World Vision's tidal flat campaign to mark Environment Day. The event highlighted how funds raised through the campaign had translated into tangible conservation outcomes.
The fund was built through customer contributions matched by Hyundai Department Store, and was used to purchase approximately 1,500 pyeong (about 4,950 square meters) of tidal flat in Buan-gun, North Jeolla Province. The Korea National Trust for Natural Environment now manages the site and is carrying out long-term ecological conservation activities there.
The "Own Your Tidal Flat" campaign was designed to let consumers take part in environmental protection through everyday actions, combining public participation with corporate sponsorship. The funds raised went directly toward conservation of the natural environment, which organizers said gave the campaign particular significance.
Tidal flats serve as habitat for diverse marine life and absorb and store carbon, playing an important role in addressing the climate crisis and sustaining marine ecosystems. The preservation of this site is regarded as a significant example of natural environment protection and biodiversity conservation.
World Vision plans to build on this outcome by expanding environmental protection activities that bring citizens and businesses together. Later this month, it will launch season two of its tidal flat conservation campaign, open to all, under the theme "Protecting One Pyeong of Tidal Flat in My Name."
"We are glad that the fund we built together with our customers has led to real tidal flat conservation," a Hyundai Department Store official said. "We will continue to pursue a wide range of activities through which customers can help realize environmental values."
Kim Seong-tae, head of World Vision's Sustainable Partnership Division, said the case demonstrated how civic participation and corporate action can translate into natural environment conservation. "World Vision will keep working to ensure that businesses, citizens and local communities can join together in building a sustainable environment," he said.
Meanwhile, World Vision continues to drive environmental campaigns focused on climate crisis response and biodiversity conservation, sustaining citizen-led environmental protection efforts.
kim3956@heraldcorp.com
