GS Retail Donates 117,840 Books Through 'Book Dream Campaign'

Park Myung-seok, the owner of GS25 Kim Dae-jung Center store, who was selected as the all-time top donor of the GS Retail 'Book Dream Campaign' by donating 26,910 books, is smiling while holding a book. (Photo by GS Retail)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] GS Retail is creating a new culture of donation through unique social contribution activities.

GS Retail announced on the 22nd that it visited the social contribution organization 'ThanksGive' and delivered 19,706 books collected last year.

GS Retail started the 'Book Dream' campaign in 2011. This book donation social contribution activity was planned to collect books sleeping on bookshelves and donate them to social contribution organizations so that they could be delivered to underprivileged children and adolescents.

The Book Dream campaign rapidly expanded in scale since 2013 when the GS25 Franchise Owners Association joined. There was even a case where a customer donated 352 books.

In particular, Park Myungseok, the franchise owner operating GS25 Kim Daejung Center store in Seo-gu, Gwangju, Jeollado, donated 550 books in 2015, 2,550 books in 2016, 3,600 books in 2017, 12,100 books in 2018, and 10,000 books in 2019, totaling 26,910 books over the past five years. Park was selected as the all-time top donor of the GS Retail Book Dream campaign.

The second largest donor is franchise owner An Kyungae of GS25 Bukgu Nowon store, who donated a total of 2,597 books, and the third largest donor is franchise owner Oh Secheol of GS25 Wonju Youngjin store, who donated a total of 1,221 books.

Top donor Park said, “The Book Dream campaign is especially meaningful because I can personally feel that by purchasing and delivering books, I give dreams and hope to children while recalling my difficult childhood,” adding, “I hope the few books I deliver become dreams and hope for underprivileged neighbors, and I will continue sharing activities steadily in the future.”

The total number of books donated through the Book Dream campaign reached 117,840 by the end of last year. According to ThanksGive, the amount converted at 4,700 KRW per book corresponds to approximately 553.84 million KRW.

ThanksGive has supported the books received from GS Retail to about 20 small libraries nationwide, small study rooms, and multicultural centers that low-income children and adolescents in Korea and abroad can use.

GS Retail is continuously considering ways to exert positive influence by developing book donation sharing activities into a nationwide campaign based on its offline store platform of about 14,000 stores including GS25, GS THE FRESH, and Lalavla spread across the country.

Kim Siyeon, GS Retail’s social contribution manager, said, “GS Retail will continue to practice the social contribution slogan ‘Give and Share, a sharing platform together in daily life’ and carry out various activities that can deliver hope and dreams to our neighbors in difficult local communities.”