Members of ``Happy Friends,'' a volunteer group of teenagers, launched by Korea Life Insurance and World Vision, gathered to deliver briquettes to underprivileged households in Gangwon Province, Thursday through Friday.
The group, comprising 400 teenagers selected from around the country each year, aims at becoming role models of sound-minded teenagers. They also engaged in a no-smoking campaign last year. Korea Life Insurance sent some of the outstanding teenagers to volunteer in Cambodia and Kenya.
The teenagers handed out 70,000 briquettes to 244 underprivileged families in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, whose economy collapsed following the closedown of a mine. They also presented emergency kits comprising necessities for senior citizens without families, who have to survive the long, cold winters in the mountainous region.
``This is the first time I saw briquettes. It's impressive to know that two or three briquettes can warm up the day for some of our neighbors,'' said Choi Ji-hoon, a sophomore at Jamsil High School in Seoul, who participated as a volunteer.