Hyundai Steel starts new campaign promoting recycled steel

A screenshot from the campaign's collaboration video shows scrap metal artist Kim Hoo-cheol standing in front of his robot sculpture, named G-Robot, composed of recycled steel parts. (Hyundai Steel)

South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel has launched a new environmental campaign with the slogan, "A future drawn by steel," as part of its commitment to ESG management, the company said Tuesday.

The campaign slogan plays on the meaning of the word "green," which is pronounced '"geurin" in Korean. In Korean, "geurin" means "drawn."

This initiative seeks to raise public awareness about the sustainability of steel, emphasizing its role in resource recycling. Through various channels, the campaign will illustrate how iron, a key component of steel, can be recycled repeatedly -- over 40 times. These include artistic collaborations, shows for video streaming services and a social media campaign for short-form content themed around upcycling.

Central to the campaign is a collaboration with artist Kim Hoo-cheol, known for his scrap metal art creations using recycled metal from vehicles and other sources.

One of his notable pieces is a robot-like sculpture constructed entirely from recycled steel parts. His creative process involves collecting scrap metal from cars, bicycles, machine parts, steel plates, and pipes, which he then welds together to form the robot's skeleton. The gaps are filled with putty, and the sculpture is finally painted.

This collaboration was showcased in a video series released on Nov. 3, featuring Kim's art and his creative process at his Fe01 recycling culture complex. The Fe01 complex, named using the elemental symbol for iron and the number 01, symbolizes the idea of a new world built from scrap metal.

“The campaign is all about sparking conversation on the importance of upcycling and showing how committed Hyundai Steel is to molding a greener future,” a Hyundai Steel official said.

By Moon Joon-hyun(mjh@heraldcorp.com)