The “Public and Private Cooperation Project“ jointly hosted by the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange (KOFICE) and CJ E&M, and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was held at Maoxian and Cheongdu in Sichuan, China, for three days from May 23 (Monday) to 25 (Wednesday).

Since 2012, KOFICE has been supporting “Public–Private Partnership“ to promote Hallyu in cooperation with CJ E&M in order to encourage corporate social responsibilities and promote global cultural exchanges in private sectors. This project has been greatly contributing to offering opportunities for children of culturally neglected families to enjoy cultural contents as well as to enhancing the national image of Korea by expanding cultural exchanges between the two countries.

For this project, CJ Headquarters in China, CGV, the CJ Sharing Foundation, the China Friendship Foundation for Peace & Development, the China–Republic of Korea Friendship Association, and the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries have been working together since last March. This year’s event was held at Husi and Pheongijeon Elementary Schools in Maoxian and Guanglong Elementary School in Cheongdu to offer a better educational environment and opportunities to experience Hallyu contents to children in the Sichuan Province who are experiencing difficult circumstances due to the major earthquakes that struck the area over the past several years.

Message of Hope Delivered by I.O.I to the Children in China

This event was particularly attended by I.O.I, a South Korean idol group who became a symbol of hope by finally realizing their long-time dream to become singers. The members delivered a message of hope to children who are experiencing difficult circumstances by offering them a chance to experience K-pop through the program titled “Growing Dream Music Class.“ For two days, the children were able to learn about the Hallyu culture while dancing and singing to K-pop music under the guidance of I.O.I. They also had a special time drawing a picture of their dreams on T-shirts.

Support for the improvement of educational environment for culturally neglected children will be constantly given. As a part of its efforts, CJ E&M has donated K-pop CDs, animation CDs, and multimedia devices, such as computers, beam projectors, and others, to Guanglong Elementary School so that the students there could experience Hallyu contents.