[One Day Ten Thousand Steps] Protecting the Earth by Walking... Plogging Surges on 'Earth Day'

On April 22, the 54th ‘Earth Day,’ plogging events were held across the country. Plogging refers to volunteer activities that involve picking up trash while walking or jogging.

The nonprofit organization Jeju Olle conducted coastal cleanup activities with nine groups partnered under the ‘Our Neighborhood Clean Olle’ initiative. Our Neighborhood Clean Olle is part of the Jeju Olle environmental campaign, aiming to promote environmental cleanup activities in the regions where the partnered organizations belong, centered around the Jeju Olle Trail, through agreements with various institutions, organizations, and villages in Jeju.

This year’s first joint environmental cleanup took place near Sin-eom Port on Jeju Olle Trail Course 16. The 76 participants collected 68 large bags of marine debris, totaling approximately 5,440 liters, over an hour and a half. The most frequently found items were discarded buoys used in aquaculture farms. Due to the difficulty of the collection work this year, about three joint environmental cleanup activities will be conducted with the partner organizations to address the long-neglected marine litter problem.

Several companies also took part in plogging to mark Earth Day. Employees of Baim Global, a subsidiary of the global medical aesthetic company Baim, participated in plogging activities by picking up trash and tidying the area around Jamsil Hangang Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul.

SK Hynix conducted the 'ECOSEE Program,' an ecological monitoring activity at Anseongcheon Stream, with families of members from Microsoft Korea (MSFT). About 30 family members from both companies participated as citizen scientists. They explored aquatic organisms, plants, and birds around Anseongcheon Stream in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province, while cleaning the river surroundings through plogging.

A plogging certification campaign was also held. The interior platform ‘Today’s House’ launched the ‘Protect the Earth Challenge’ to introduce various eco-friendly lifestyles that customers can practice in their daily lives in celebration of Earth Day.

Participants can certify small moments of protecting the Earth through the Today’s House application (app), such as packing food in reusable containers, eating one vegetarian meal a day, and plogging on the way to work. All participants in the challenge will receive Today’s House points.