SK Inno Opens Library at Gochang Children's Center... Plans to Open 15 Locations by Year-End

Using Employee Fund to Support Rural and Island Libraries Project

SK Innovation will build libraries in 15 locations nationwide for rural children who are in educational blind spots due to geographical conditions.

SK Innovation announced on the 9th that it opened the "Happy Dream Library" at the "Open Local Children's Center" in Gochang, Jeonbuk, on the 8th.

(From left) Heekwon Kim, Head of ESG Division at Save the Children; Sanghong Eom, Head of CSR Team at SK Innovation; Hyunju Yoon, Director of Open Local Children's Center; Jaeseung Jeong, Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at KAIST, are posing for a commemorative photo at the opening ceremony of the Happy Dream Library held on the 8th at the Open Local Children's Center in Gochang, Jeollabuk-do. (Photo by SK Innovation)

Earlier, since September, SK Innovation has been carrying out the Happy Dream Library project to bridge the educational gap in rural areas where libraries and bookstores are severely lacking. Starting with the opening of the Gochang library, SK Innovation and Save the Children will open libraries for children in a total of 15 locations in town and township areas nationwide, including Okcheon in Chungbuk and Yecheon in Gyeongbuk, by the end of this year.

The libraries will house a total of about 6,000 books, including children's books donated through campaigns by Kyobo Book Centre and books donated by SK Innovation employees. In addition, through reading programs operated by professional instructors and large library experience activities, an environment will be created where children can develop an interest in reading.

An SK Innovation official said, "We carried out the library project with 200 million won from a fund voluntarily established by our members," adding, "We are pleased to create an educational environment where children in rural areas can freely read books and study after school."

At the opening ceremony of the Gochang library, Professor Jae-Seung Jeong of KAIST's Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, who is an ambassador for Save the Children, participated and gave a special lecture. Professor Jeong said, "I am glad to be part of supporting spaces necessary for children's growth in areas deprived of educational and cultural benefits," and added, "This Happy Dream Library will be a space where children's dreams grow."

SK Innovation carried out this library project using the "Happy Sharing Fund," which employees have voluntarily contributed 1% of their base salary to since 2017. The cumulative amount of the Happy Sharing Fund exceeded 20 billion won in the first half of this year. Besides the library project, the fund is used for various programs to solve social issues, such as supporting treatment costs for children with incurable diseases, providing prosthetics for the disabled, and partnership projects for elderly living alone.

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