Yangcheon-gu to Hold 'Environment Kokkok Campaign Launch Forum'

District takes action to protect the environment from increasing COVID-19 waste... Introducing unique activities like 'plogging,' jogging while picking up trash for a two-in-one benefit

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yangcheon-gu (Mayor Kim Soo-young) will hold a launching forum for the ‘Environment Kkokkkok’ campaign on the 27th.

The ‘Environment Kkokkkok’ campaign was planned to provide a time to learn together about various ways to practice environmental protection in daily life, at a time when the amount of waste has dramatically increased due to the rise in online shopping and food delivery usage after the outbreak of COVID-19, making mature civic awareness of environmental protection a more important issue than ever.

The launching forum, marking the start of the campaign, will be held at the Yangcheon-gu Volunteer Center auditorium on the day. Hosted by announcer Hwang Soon-yoo, it will open with opening speeches by Lee Cho-a, a YouTuber and CEO of The Minimal, on ‘Zero Waste in Daily Life,’ and announcer Park Ji-hye on ‘Sharing Healthy Plogging Experiences.’ Mini talks will follow with Kwak Ji-yeon, president of the Anyangcheon Environmental Guardians, and Joo Eun-ah, a climate activist from Yangcheon-gu.

Next, Kim Hong-tak from Social Workshop COP will present ‘Environmental Campaigns Overcoming COVID-19, Now as Play and Culture,’ followed by campaign launch explanations and proposals by Ham Hyung-ho, director of the Yangcheon-gu Volunteer Center. The event will conclude with the screening of the Annyeong Campaign music video.

The full-scale campaign will run simultaneously online and offline for three weeks from the day after the launching forum, October 28 to November 19. The online campaign will share personal environmental practices in daily life through a relay-style ‘Kkok’ (pinpoint) sharing method, while the offline campaign will encourage ‘plogging,’ an activity combining jogging and picking up trash.

Plogging is a newly coined term combining the Spanish phrase ‘plock up’ meaning ‘to pick up’ and ‘jogging.’ It is gaining attention as an environmental protection activity because it can be easily practiced by taking a walk at a convenient time near home or workplace.

The offline plogging campaign is open to all Yangcheon-gu residents. Those who wish to participate can learn about the activity’s meaning and guidelines through the plogging participation notice on the Yangcheon-gu Volunteer Center website. Participants then perform plogging for one hour at their preferred time and place in a non-face-to-face manner, and by accessing the URL link to verify their personal information and activity photos, their volunteer hours within one hour will be certified.

Yangcheon-gu Mayor Kim Soo-young said, “As a result of a survey conducted among Yangcheon-gu residents, I realized that residents are deeply concerned about the increasingly serious environmental pollution problems caused by waste disposal. I hope the Environment Kkokkkok campaign will be an opportunity for residents to directly practice various environmental protection activities and catch two rabbits of fulfillment and fun. We will continue to make various attempts to protect the environment.”

For more details, please refer to the Yangcheon-gu Volunteer Center website, the ‘Yangcheon Jabong’ YouTube channel, and the 1365 Volunteer Portal site.