Hanwha distributes Braille calendars

Hanwha Group employees stand behind a specially designed “calendar of love” Braille calendar. The company has distributed 50,000 copies to related organizations and individuals. / Courtesy of Hanwha Group

By Park Jin-hai

As a part of its social responsibility program for the visually challenged, Hanwha Group has made 50,000 Braille calendars for 2016 and delivered them to related organizations, the company said Tuesday.

The nation’s tenth largest conglomerate has been delivering the specially designed “calendar of love” since 2000.

The campaign began with 5,000 copies of desk-top calendars after its chairman, Lee Seung-youn, read an e-mail from a blind person who pleaded for support for visually challenged people. The calendar has grown in size through getting greater responses from many organizations.

“The campaign was intended so that all blind people can share the joy of greeting the New Year,” said a company official.

Now, wall calendars have been added and distributed to the people in need.

The calendars were made after a review of experts said they can be used by the blind and sighted alike, making a culture that doesn’t discriminate against disabled people, the company said.

The calendars are printed by Braille Publishing, a social enterprise, and distributed to over 300 organizations and thousands of individuals for free each year.

Entering its 16th year with the calendar, over the years, Hanwha has delivered some 570,000 calendars.