Hana Bank, Myeong-dong merchants assist Seoul soup kitchen

Hana Bank along with the Myeong-dong Merchants Association gave donations to a Catholic Church-run soup kitchen in Myeong-dong on Friday as part of their cooperative project to revitalize the commercial district and aid small business owners.

Volunteers including Hana Bank executives and employees, alongside members of the Myeong-dong Merchants Association, help out at the Myeong-dong Bab House, a soup kitchen located in Myeongdong, central Seoul. [HANA BANK]

Hana Bank along with the Myeong-dong Merchants Association gave donations to a Catholic Church-run soup kitchen in Myeong-dong on Friday as part of their cooperative project to revitalize the commercial district and aid small business owners.

Funds to cover meals for 1,111 people were donated, said Hana Bank in a news release on Monday.

On the same day, executives and workers from the bank, along with merchants, volunteered at the Myeongdong Babjib soup kitchen. The facility serves the homeless and senior citizens living alone in and around the Jung and Jongno Districts in central Seoul.

“After seeing senior citizens come in during the cold weather to eat several meals in one sitting and not leave their seats for a long time, I wanted to provide them with a warmth that would stay with them for longer,” said a Hana Bank employee who volunteered at the kitchen on Friday. The employee added that the group's mission of providing "finance that grows along and shares happiness with communities" was actively carried out on-site that day.

The Myeongdong Babjib operates under the One-Body One-Spirt Movement, an evangelical charity established and run by members of the Korean Catholic Church. Its soup kitchen is open on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and serves more than 600 meals daily.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]