[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day Thousand Characters] Hansol 'Adopts' Songnim, S-Oil 'Adopts' Mokdo... Do You Know About Companion Beaches?

On May 23rd, about 20 executives and employees of Hansol Paper's Janghang Plant separated marine debris and recyclable materials along the approximately 2 km-long Songnim Baeksajang Beach. This was part of the Companion Beach cleanup activity. The Companion Beach program is a system where companies, organizations, and schools adopt a specific beach and care for it as if it were their own pet.

Hansol Paper adopted Songnim Baeksajang Beach in Janghang-eup, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, where the Janghang Plant is located, through the Companion Beach project organized by the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in 2021, and conducts care activities twice a year. On June 23rd, executives and employees of Kooksoondang carried out environmental cleanup activities along a 750m stretch from the Simart Hotel to the Skybay Gyeongpo Hotel at Gyeongpo Beach in Gangneung. The total amount collected was 5.95 kg, including 2.6 kg (13,000 pieces) of firecracker fuse waste. Gyeongpo Beach is the area adopted by Kooksoondang.

S-Oil employees are conducting environmental cleanup activities at Mokdo Beach.
[Photo by Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation]

On the 22nd of the same month, 61 employees of S-Oil, including new hires, collected marine debris from Mokdo Beach in Ulju-gun, Ulsan City, which they have adopted, and transported the collected waste to the entrance using vehicles (Porter). The fishing waste mainly consisted of fishing gear discarded by anglers, food-related waste (food waste, beverage bottles and cans, containers, etc.), cigarette butts (about 50 sacks), and some large debris such as Styrofoam, tires, and wood pieces washed ashore from the sea.

The Companion Beach program is a beach adoption initiative where companies, organizations, and schools take responsibility for a specific beach and care for it like their own pet. It first started in Texas, USA, in 1986 and expanded throughout the United States. The previous name was 'Beach Adoption,' but in July 2020, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries renamed it to 'Companion Beach' through a naming contest. In September of the same year, the first Companion Beach agreement was signed with Jeju Island, and pilot projects were conducted with Jeju Beer Co., Ltd., HiteJinro Co., Ltd., and the Government Employees Pension Service managing Geumnung, Pyoseon, and Jungmun Saekdal beaches, respectively. Since then, the program has expanded to metropolitan local governments nationwide, and currently, there are 141 adoption cases by private companies and organizations. By region, the numbers are Busan (15), Incheon (23), Ulsan (1), Gyeonggi (2), Gangwon (8), Chungnam (25), Jeonbuk (2), Jeonnam (19), Gyeongbuk (13), Gyeongnam (13), and Jeju (20).

In May 2022, KT&G, the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation, and the East Asian Sea Community OSEAN signed a business agreement to support marine environmental protection. Yoo Sang-jun, Head of Marine Conservation Headquarters at the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (from the left), Lee Sang-hak, Head of Sustainable Management Headquarters at KT&G, and Hong Seon-wook, CEO of OSEAN, are posing for a commemorative photo.
[Photo by KT&G]

Major companies include Seven Eleven (Imrang Beach, Busan), CJ CheilJedang Busan Plant (Dadaepo, Busan), POSCO (Wangsan, Incheon), KT&G (Seonnyeobawi Beach, Incheon; Homigot Beach, Gyeongbuk), Genesis BBQ Group (Yongyu Beach, Incheon), HD Hyundai Infracore (Okdol Beach, Jeonbuk), National Health Insurance Service Gwangju Jeolla Jeju Headquarters (Daegwang Beach, Jeonnam), POSCO Humans (around Janggilli, Guryongpo, and the beach in front of Pohang Science High School, Gyeongbuk), Doosan Enerbility (Guisan Beach, Gyeongnam), SK Pinx (Hwasun Geummorae Beach, Jeju), and HiteJinro (Pyoseon Beach, Jeju). The Korea National Park Service has adopted 19 beaches.

Companion Beach Logo

Anyone, including organizations, companies, and schools, can participate in the Companion Beach program. Participants must carry out activities during the two-year participation period, conduct cleanup activities at least three times a year, and plan and operate at least one campaign related to marine environmental protection annually. For existing Companion Beaches, up to six institutions can adopt one beach. However, due to safety concerns and complaints related to the installation of signboards, the installation and production of Companion Beach signboards have been discontinued since 2023.