Tetra Pak promotes Nanjido as World Heritage Site
Tetra Pak Korea employees and other participants gather before embarking on the “Walk of Hope” at Haneul Park on Nanjido in western Seoul, Saturday. The multinational food processing and packaging company has been organizing the parade as part of the Orchid Light Festival since 2013 to promote the story of Nanjido’s transformation, from a notorious landfill into an eco-friendly city park. / Courtesy of Tetra Pak Korea
Orchid Light Festival highlights landfill’s transformation into eco-friendly park
By Lee Hyo-sik
Tetra Pak Korea has been attracting keen attention from the foreign business community for its campaign to raise awareness of environmental restoration and sustainability initiatives.
Since 2013, the Korean unit of the multinational food packaging and processing company has been organizing the Orchid Light Festival in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) and environmental conservation groups, to highlight the transformation of Nanjido, once a notorious landfill site in western Seoul, into an eco-friendly park.
This year, the Orchid Light Festival organizing committee held the festival from Oct. 7 to 16, hosting a range of events across the park to draw thousands of environmentally conscious people from all walks of life, including young students and senior citizens.
Nanjido, once an island on the Han River, literally means “isle of orchids and spiritual mushrooms” in Korean. It used to be a popular honeymoon destination but became a garbage dump in 1978. For 15 years until 1992, the island was used as a landfill for a total of 92 million tons of trash produced by Seoul residents.
But the 2002 FIFA World Cup changed its fate as SMG decided to build a football stadium nearby and turn the island into a complex of four eco-friendly parks: Peace Park, Haneul Park, Noeul Park and Nanjicheon Park.
Today, more than 1,000 species of animals and plants thrive in these parks, attracting thousands of visitors every day, according to SMG.
“Above all, the festival aims to share the transformation story of Nanjido with the world,” said Grace Oh, communications manager of Tetra Pak Korea. “We also would like to emphasize the importance of collaboration among government, business and community groups, for organizing environmental conservation activities such as the Orchid Light Festival. Tetra Pak alone cannot do it all.”
Students from the Philippines sing an environmentally themed song during a ceremony at the Seoul Energy Dream Center on Nanjido in western Seoul, Saturday. Tetra Pak Korea invited 10 Filipino students whose homes are located in or near landfill sites to share their stories with other participants. / Courtesy of Tetra Pak Korea
Turning Nanjido into World Heritage Site
On Saturday, the organizing committee began a campaign at the Seoul Energy Dream Center on Nanjido to have the site designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It plans to organize a host of activities in the coming years at home and abroad to promote the story of Nanjido’s transformation from a landfill into an ecological park.
“What has happened on the island means something for those living in other parts of the world who are suffering from various kinds of environmental pollution,” Oh said. We believe they can more easily learn from how Nanjido has become what it is now if it is designated as a World Heritage Site. We will campaign hard to promote Nanjido as a valuable asset. We would like to help people overcome adverse conditions and live better lives.”
The committee also held a ceremony to give awards to three groups of students for their performances in an English speaking contest on Oct. 8.
A choir consisting of senior citizens residing near Nanjido performed, while a group of students from the nearby Dwight International School Seoul also sang, receiving a big round of applause from participants.
In addition, 10 students from the Philippines sang an environmentally themed song, calling on Korea to help lift many Filipino children living near garbage dumps out of poverty. The students whose homes are located in or near landfill sites shared their experiences with their Korean counterparts and learned how Nanjido was turned into an eco-friendly park.
The committee also offered scholarships to children of North Korean defectors and Vietnamese mothers, as well as providing beverages and other household supplies to senior citizens living alone in the area.
Concluding the day, Tetra Pak employees, students and others took part in the “Walk of Hope” parade in which participants walk through Haneul Park to express their hope for Nanjido being named as a World Heritage Site.
“To mark the company’s 30th anniversary in Korea in 2013, we signed a partnership with SMG and environmental conservation groups to initiate the Orchid Light Festival,” the communications manager said.
“Our global headquarters recognizes it as one of the most successful CSR activities by its affiliates around the world. We will continue to cherish the partnership we have and expand the scope of the festival in the coming years to further raise awareness of the importance of environmental protection,” she said.
Tetra Pak Korea, headed by CEO Chris Kenneally, has been providing packaging products to dozens of local companies, including Dr. Chung’s Food, Maeil Dairy Products, Yonsei Milk, Namyang Dairy, Lotte Chilsung Beverage, Seoul Milk, Dongwon F&B and Korea Yakult.
The company ― set up in 1983 ― has also been helping more than 150 food and beverage producers improve their processing under the motto “Protect What’s Good.”