Volunteers assist labor-strapped farm amid harvest season; participants also discuss linking housing-vulnerable residents to rural jobs

Participants from NH NongHyup Life, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's welfare office and the Seoul Homeless Job Support Center pose for a group photo at a farm in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday. From the fifth person from the left in the front row: Kim Wook, director of the Seoul Homeless Job Support Center; Park Wol-jin, secretary of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's welfare office; Park Byeong-hui, CEO of NH NongHyup Life; and Kim Myeong-hui, head of Gimpo NongHyup. [NH NongHyup Life]
Participants from NH NongHyup Life, the Seoul Metropolitan Government's welfare office and the Seoul Homeless Job Support Center pose for a group photo at a farm in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, on Friday. From the fifth person from the left in the front row: Kim Wook, director of the Seoul Homeless Job Support Center; Park Wol-jin, secretary of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's welfare office; Park Byeong-hui, CEO of NH NongHyup Life; and Kim Myeong-hui, head of Gimpo NongHyup. [NH NongHyup Life]

NH NongHyup Life announced Tuesday that it joined forces with the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Friday to visit a farm in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, and carry out a rural volunteer farming activity.

The initiative was organized to support farms struggling with labor shortages during the harvest season and to promote cooperation between urban institutions and rural communities through a public-private partnership.

A total of 36 people took part, including NH NongHyup Life CEO Park Byeong-hui, Seoul Metropolitan Government Welfare Office Secretary Park Wol-jin and Seoul Homeless Job Support Center Director Kim Wook.

Volunteers worked at a zucchini farm, removing side shoots as part of crop management and assisting with the harvest. They also cleared weeds and tidied the surrounding farm environment.

After the fieldwork, participants exchanged views on ways to link the rural labor shortage with job support programs for housing-vulnerable residents. NH NongHyup Life said it plans to consistently explore further cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and related agencies.

"Addressing the labor shortage in rural areas requires companies, local governments and other stakeholders to work together," Park said. "We will continue to expand cooperation with local governments and related organizations to carry out social contribution activities that benefit rural communities and local society."

Meanwhile, NH NongHyup Life has been sustaining its harvest-season farm support efforts. On Oct. 13, executives and staff from its product development and marketing strategy divisions volunteered at a mulberry farm in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, as part of the company's second-half rural volunteer program.


won@heraldcorp.com