Seoul mayor joins shoe donation campaign

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon joined a campaign event in Seoul Square Tuesday to raise the importance of shoes for barefooted poor children.

The annual campaign, entitled “One Day Without Shoes,” not only promotes the importance of shoes to the health and education of children but also a private company’s drive to give shoes to impoverished kids in underdeveloped countries.

Last year, the event was held in 3,000 locations in about 50 countries.

In Seoul, TOMS and Seoul City held related events. TOMS is a shoe company that carries out the One for One movement which gives a pair of new shoes to children for every pair it sells.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon walked a track on the square barefooted together with students and children from multicultural families and other citizens.

Besides the walk, organizers held a show of fair trade goods, a pop concert and a shoe decoration event.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)