BGF Retail and National Police Agency Host 2nd National Child Safety Drawing Contest

Poster for CU's 2nd National Child Safety Drawing Contest.

[Asia Economy, reporter Jin-Young Jeon] BGF Retail, which operates CU, is collaborating with the National Police Agency to host the 2022 Child Safety Drawing Contest until May 31, aiming to raise public awareness about child protection.

According to BGF Retail on May 9, this year's contest is held under the slogan "Let's Create a Happy and Safe Korea for Children Together!" There are two themes: the "Missing Child Prevention" category, which involves drawing the I-CU campaign that helps lost children return home safely and the Child Safety Guard House; and the "Child Abuse Prevention" category, which involves depicting a happy family free from child abuse.

Any child aged 13 or younger (up to 6th grade in elementary school) can participate individually or as a group. Entries will be judged in three age groups: kindergarten, lower elementary, and upper elementary.

Awards will be presented separately for each theme: the CEO Award of BGF Retail for the Missing Child Prevention category and the Commissioner General Award of the National Police Agency for the Child Abuse Prevention category. One grand prize and one top excellence award will be selected for each theme and age group, with a total of 12 winners receiving a certificate and a scholarship (up to 1 million KRW).

The Good Friend Award will be given to 30 participants in each category, for a total of 60 winners, each receiving a 30,000 KRW CU mobile gift certificate. Additionally, the first 1,000 participants will receive a 1,000 KRW CU mobile gift certificate.

The winning entries will be determined by combining internal evaluation scores from BGF Retail and the National Police Agency for each category with the results of a public vote conducted via social networking services (SNS). The winners will be announced in July, and in August, an illustrated collection of the participants' works will be published along with an award ceremony.

To participate, entrants must scan their colored drawings on size 8 art paper and submit them online in the designated format by May 31.

The first Child Safety Drawing Contest, held last year, effectively promoted the I-CU program to children and their guardians, as 48% of participants reported learning about I-CU through the contest.

I-CU is a public-private partnership safety network launched by CU and the National Police Agency in 2017. It ensures that lost children are safely protected at stores and handed over to the police or their families. The Child Safety Guard House is an emergency temporary shelter at convenience stores and similar locations where children in danger can seek help.

Last year, the winning drawings from the contest were used in CU's hot pack packaging design, helping to publicize the public service role of convenience stores in community safety and promoting a culture that prioritizes child protection in society.

Park Jungkwon, Head of Communications at BGF Retail, stated, "The I-CU campaign, which leverages CU's nationwide network, has proven extremely effective, having reunited over 100 individuals with their families so far. Going forward, CU will continue to strengthen its role as a safety platform in local communities by sincerely engaging in public-interest activities that protect the safety and happiness of everyone."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.