"Boss, How About This Instead of Drug-Related Ads?"... A Handwritten Letter from an Elementary School Student

"Hello, sir. I think it would be better to replace the word 'Mayak' with a nicer word like 'Somunnan' (Famous). Change your signboard to a pretty one and have great success!"

On the 30th of last month, students from Pungnam Elementary School in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, visited two food and beverage stores near Jeonju Hanok Village. The students handed letters they had written themselves directly into the hands of the store owners.

Handwritten letters delivered by students of Jeonju Pungnam Elementary School.
[Photo by Jeonbuk Office of Education]

According to the Jeollabuk-do Office of Education on the 18th, the letter, which began with "I am a 6th-grade student at Pungnam Elementary School," contained the children's thoughts on the advertising phrase "Mayak XX" used in the food and beverage stores.

The elementary students wrote that the advertising phrase might make people take drugs lightly and could cause misunderstandings among foreigners.

The letter included an alternative suggestion: "We had a class on the theme of 'drugs' recently, and during that time, we learned that many stores have the name 'Mayak.' So, we decided to deliver this letter containing our proposal to the owners of the Mayak XX stores scattered throughout Hanok Village. Please try using phrases like 'Somunnan' (Famous), 'Daebak' (Great Success), or 'Wonjo' (Original) instead of 'Mayak.'"

The nearby merchants who received the polite handwritten letters responded to the children's proposal. One merchant visited Pungnam Elementary and said, "I was deeply impressed by the Pungnam students," delivering a reply letter and snacks, and promised to revise the advertising phrase.

The reason Pungnam Elementary students wrote the letters was thanks to the "Drug Prevention Education Week" discussion classes held from the 19th to the 23rd of last month. Kim Dosin, the health teacher at Pungnam Elementary, suggested discussing the "Mayak XX" advertising phrase seen in nearby stores with 71 5th and 6th graders and thinking about alternatives.

Students of Pungnam Elementary School in Jeonju are delivering letters they wrote to store owners. [Photo by Jeonbuk Office of Education]

Teacher Kim said, "I thought it would be good to have this kind of class because the phrase 'Mayak XX' is easily seen around the school." He added, "At first, I wondered if a handwritten letter could really bring about change, but it seems the children's sincere feelings reached the merchants. When I visited two days after delivering the letters, the advertising phrase had indeed changed from 'Mayak' to 'Wonjo'."

The student representatives who delivered the letters, Hwang Geonha and Cha Noyoung, said, "We were half hopeful and half doubtful about whether we could make a change, but we are very proud that the handwritten letters led to such a good result," and expressed their gratitude to the store owners for making a good decision.

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