Sunfull Foundation, Seongnam city hold K-Respect ceremony to promote multicultural harmony

The Sunfull Foundation and the Seongnam city government jointly held the K-Respect declaration ceremony, a campaign to resolve social conflicts between cultures by raising awareness of respect for people from different backgrounds.

Sunfull Foundation Chairman Min Byoung-chul, eleventh from left, and Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin, ninth from left, pose with Indonesian influencers Ruben Onsu, eighth from left, Inara Rusli, fifth from right, Indonesian film producer Shankar Ramchand, fourth from right, and other participants in a declaration ceremony for the K-Respect & No Hate Comments Campaign, in front of the Seongnam City Hall in Gyeonggi, on July 15. [SUNFULL FOUNDATION]

The Sunfull Foundation and the Seongnam city government jointly held the K-Respect declaration ceremony, a campaign to resolve social conflicts between cultures by raising awareness of respect for people from different backgrounds.

The event, held on July 15, was attended by Sunfull Foundation Chairman Min Byoung-chul, Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin, Indonesian influencers Ruben Onsu and Inara Rusli, as well as other dignitaries and students supporting the Sunfull Movement.

"We will contribute to creating a culture in which multicultural families and foreigners living in Seongnam live in harmony with mutual understanding and respect, free from prejudice and discrimination," Mayor Shin said, noting that around 31,000 foreigners and multicultural families reside in the city in Gyeonggi.

During the event, Min emphasized the campaign's importance, pointing out that many foreigners in Korea still face prejudice and discrimination despite their contributions to society.

"We need a national awareness of understanding their culture and respecting foreigners," he said.

Last year, Min launched the K-Respect campaign to increase awareness and foster respect for diverse cultures. The campaign aligns with the foundation’s philosophy of respect, which has been its cornerstone since its establishment in 2007. The non-governmental foundation began with the launch of the Sunfull Movement, which encourages people to replace malicious online comments with positive ones.

According to the foundation, some 840,000 netizens are registered on the Sunfull website. The movement has also been adopted by 7,000 schools nationwide, while all 299 members of the previous 21st National Assembly also signed the Sunfull pledge.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]