[Harumanbo Harucheonja] For 'Tired Office Workers'... Local Governments and Companies Create Walking Culture

For office workers who commute back and forth, exercising with a tired body is no easy task. In response, local governments and companies have recently rolled up their sleeves to operate walking exercise programs that busy workers can easily participate in to improve their physical fitness.

Since the 16th, Donghae City in Gangwon Province has been running the ‘Jeoncheon Riverside Moonlight Exercise Class’ for office workers who find it difficult to join programs during the daytime. Starting at 7:30 PM, this program is designed to help participants build stamina and prevent obesity by engaging in walking along with stretching, aerobics, and other daily health exercises together with local residents.

A city official said, "The obesity rate among our local residents is 34.3%, which is higher than the national average, so we decided to operate this program," adding, "We hope office workers maintain their health by walking in the evening."

Gyeongsan City in Gyeongbuk Province also announced on the 17th that it formed a walking club for office workers and conducted walking education. The office workers’ health walking club was established to help office workers develop walking habits in their daily lives through ‘walking in spare moments’ such as during lunch breaks, and to prevent chronic diseases caused by lack of exercise.

Companies are hitting two birds with one stone by taking care of health through walking programs while also engaging in social contribution by donating based on the number of steps taken. Woori Bank is conducting the ‘On (溫)-Walking, Collecting Honey for Donation’ campaign throughout April, where employees’ steps are converted into donations to be given to neighbors in need. Hanwha TotalEnergies held the ‘Chemist’s Walking Competition’ last month, which donated funds for tree planting through walking exercises. This year, about 750 employees and their families participated in the walking competition, walking a total of 157 million steps and donating 10 million KRW to the nonprofit organization Green Asia for forest creation funds.