Asiana Airlines Flight Crew Carries Out 'Love Rice' Donation Campaign for 20 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Asiana Airlines flight crew members carried out a rice-sharing volunteer activity on the 18th to support low-income families in their local districts in celebration of the Lunar New Year holiday.

The ‘Flight Operations Headquarters Volunteer Group,’ composed of current and former Asiana Airlines pilots and staff, is a representative in-house volunteer club of Asiana Airlines that has been active for 20 years since 2003. Every month, they deliver twenty 10kg bags of rice to low-income households in Banghwa-dong, Gangseo-gu.

Over the past 20 years, the ‘Flight Operations Headquarters Volunteer Group’ has donated a total of 5,051 bags of rice (to 5,051 households), amounting to 51 tons. The value of this donation is approximately 140 million KRW.

This month’s activity, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, was especially meaningful as the rice shared was pesticide-free ‘Maehwamarum rice’ cultivated in the ‘Ganghwa Maehwamarum Colony,’ where Asiana Airlines is conducting ecosystem conservation efforts.

The rice-sharing volunteer activity began in 2003 with the voluntary donation of Captain Jeon Gwang-su. Following the wishes of the retired captain, junior pilots and flight operations staff continue the activity, including Senior Captain Lee Jun-seo (A350 Safety Operations Team), First Officer Lee Seung-jun (A350 Safety Operations Team), First Officer Han Seung-hoon (A380·A330 Safety Operations Team), First Officer Kim Dae-young (A320 Safety Operations Team), and Manager Choi Han-sol (Flight Support Team).

In particular, Senior Captain Lee Jun-seo, who leads the ‘Flight Operations Headquarters Volunteer Group,’ consistently makes regular monthly donations and also donates his year-end tax refund. Lee Jun-seo said, “The rice-sharing volunteer activity is a grateful time that helps us realize the meaning of living together beyond the purpose of helping those in need.”

Additionally, the ‘Asiana Airlines Pilot Recruitment Alumni Association’ and the ‘Asiana Airlines Pilots Union (APU)’ have also shared the spirit of giving by providing monthly sponsorships of 500,000 KRW and supporting various food items and daily necessities to the local community.