Hyundai Department Store Group Resumes University Student Mentoring for Underprivileged Children

Transition to Non-Face-to-Face Volunteer Activities Due to COVID-19
Continuing Learning Support for Underprivileged Children

On the morning of the 14th, interviewers are conducting non-face-to-face video interviews in Yeoksam-dong, Seoul, to select the 5th generation of university student mentoring program "The Gakkum".

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] Hyundai Department Store Group announced on the 14th that it will resume the learning support program "The Gakkum" for underprivileged children, which had been suspended due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in an untact (non-face-to-face) format starting this September. To this end, they recruited university student volunteers through video interviews over two days starting from the 13th.

The Gakkum is a project that dispatches university student volunteers to provide learning guidance and emotional support to children at local community centers and offers scholarship support. This program has been ongoing for four years since 2017. About 50 university student volunteers selected as part of the program will receive a total scholarship of 3.4 million KRW per person upon completing at least 40 sessions and 120 hours of activities over one year (two semesters).

Hyundai Department Store Group plans to support educational equipment such as laptops and microphones to more than 50 local community centers in Seoul and the metropolitan area to establish a smooth educational environment. In September, they will conduct a non-face-to-face workshop for the university student volunteers, and thereafter, each university student will be matched with one child to provide online mentoring.