HanmiGlobal Renovates 800th Space Welfare Site: 'Dongjak-gu Shelter for the Visually Impaired'

HanmiGlobal and the social welfare foundation Warm Companion announced on the 20th, in celebration of Disabled Persons Day, that they have completed the renovation of the 'Dongjak-gu Shelter for the Visually Impaired' in cooperation with the Dongjak District Office in Seoul and held an opening ceremony.

Kim Jong-hoon, Director of Warm Companionship (from the right), Park Il-ha, Mayor of Dongjak-gu, and Lee Seung-min, President of the Seoul Association of the Visually Impaired Dongjak Branch, are posing for a commemorative photo at the opening ceremony of the 'Dongjak-gu Shelter for the Visually Impaired' on the 20th. / Photo by HanmiGlobal

The opening ceremony was attended by Kim Jong-hoon, Chairman of HanmiGlobal and Chairman of Warm Companion, Park Il-ha, Mayor of Dongjak District Office, and Lee Seung-min, President of the Dongjak Branch of the Korea Blind Union.

Warm Companion was established in 2010 under the slogan "Creating a Warm World Without Disabilities." It is a purely non-profit organization that has carried out space welfare support projects to improve residential and living environments for domestic and international facilities for the disabled, as well as activities such as providing advanced assistive devices and creating jobs. So far, it has improved a total of 800 spaces, including 479 facilities and 321 homes. In addition, it has conducted international development cooperation projects such as improving the living environments of families of disabled persons in Vietnam and families of Korean War veterans in Ethiopia and T?rkiye.

The Dongjak-gu Shelter for the Visually Impaired, the 800th beneficiary institution of the space welfare project, plans to provide welfare services such as information provision, various self-help groups, and leisure programs to 1,490 visually impaired people in the district. Warm Companion installed soundproof walls and divided the space into a sports area, a singing and musical instrument practice room, and a braille printing room, reflecting the characteristics of visual impairments and the requests of users. The space was renovated to ensure safe movement for users by replacing automatic doors and installing braille guidance blocks.

Chairman Kim Jong-hoon said, "I feel even more meaningful to achieve the 800th space welfare project on Disabled Persons Day," adding, "This year, with the help of many people, we are implementing the space welfare project with the goal of renovating more than one facility or disabled person’s home every day." Warm Companion plans to renovate 365 facilities and homes for the disabled, large and small, this year.

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