Charity walkathon held for Nepalese Children

By Nam Hyun-woo

A costumed participant of "The First Charity Walkathon, Amazing Village Race" walks with children near Bukchon Hanok village, Seoul, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo

About 1,000 expats and Seoul citizens participated in a charity walkathon on Sunday at Bukchon Hanok Village, central Seoul, to raise funds for the construction of schools in Nepal.

The walkathon, dubbed "The 1st Charity Walkathon, Amazing Village Race," was organized by the Korea Association of Foreign Language Academies (KAFLA) and was a combination of a walkathon and scavenger hunt.

Kicking off with a percussion performance of “Nanta,” participants searched for raffle tickets hidden in the hanok village. These were redeemable for beverages and other souvenirs.

Neil Kirby, 29, from the United States, said "Seoul is an attractive city which has both inspiring traditions and dynamic modernism at the same time. By walking and searching through Bukchon, I experienced the depth of Korea's traditions."

Julie Kwon, from Canada, said, "It was a great opportunity to participate in such an event in a great cause, supporting children in underdeveloped countries."

"I think every expat in this country is a private diplomat who can promote Korea in their home countries. I hope the event has been a great opportunity to experience and understand Korea's traditional culture," said KAFLA Vice President Marie Chung.

The village race has paved another way for 1.5 million expats in the country to make a positive contribution to the global society, she added.

KAFLA donated all profits gained from the event to Um Hong Gil Human Foundation, a charity under the name of prominent Korean climber, Um Hong Gil, to help construct a modern school in Nepal.