Volunteering is Our Life... Pukyong National University Students' 'Palbang Volunteer' Efforts Draw Attention from Peacekeeping to Supporting Vulnerable Youth Independence

Pukyong National University UN Supporters and Social Contribution Volunteer Group Hold Joint Launch Ceremony on the 6th

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Student volunteers at Pukyong National University have all stretched out together.

On the morning of the 6th, Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-su) held a joint launching ceremony for the Pukyong University volunteer groups in the lobby on the first floor of Dongwon Jangbogo Hall.

On this day, 22 members of the 13th Pukyong UN Supporters and 60 members of the 2021 PKNU Social Contribution Volunteer Group held the launching ceremony and began their full-scale activities.

The Pukyong UN Supporters, a peace volunteer group, marked its 13th year this year since the first launching in 2009 to repay the grace of the veterans of the Korean War.

They visit the UN Memorial Park, the world's only UN cemetery near the university, to lay flowers and pay respects, and support events such as the annual UN Fallen Soldiers Memorial Ceremony, UN World Peace Day commemorations, and Turn Toward Busan held at the UN Memorial Park.

During vacation periods, they conduct gratitude activities by directly visiting surviving veterans overseas to deliver thank-you letters and gifts.

So far, they have personally met and expressed gratitude to over 150 veterans and bereaved families living in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, and other countries.

The PKNU Social Contribution Volunteer Group is a student volunteer group that helps vulnerable youth in the local community become independent and assists with labor in farming and fishing villages, working for the local community and neighbors.

They plan to serve as a ‘ladder of hope’ for youth by helping vulnerable youth in the region strengthen their learning capabilities and supporting various career experience projects, sports activities, mentoring, and counseling activities.

To this end, they have established cooperative networks with local organizations such as the Youth Recovery Center and Aloysius Base 1968 to plan and promote various programs.

In summer, they carry out love house repair volunteer activities by visiting households in vulnerable residential areas near the university to fix houses, and in winter, they conduct briquette-sharing volunteer activities by delivering briquettes to households vulnerable to heating.

President Jang Young-su encouraged, “I hope young people will become courageous enough to share themselves through volunteering.”