문화기업을 표방한 CJ그룹이 국내에 거주하는 외국인 대상, 문화체험 프로그램을 정례화해 한류 전파에 박차를 가할 예정이다.
CJ 그룹의 ‘Friends of K-Culture’ 문화 체험 프로그램은 그룹의 핵심 경영 가치인 공유가치창출(CSV) 경영의 일환으로 기획되었으며, 무엇보다 CJ 핵심 문화 인프라와 적극 연계해 운영되고 있다는 점에서 이채롭다.
‘Friends of K-Culture’는 올해부터 격월로 진행되며 따라서 총 6가지 행사가 마련되어 있다. 첫 체험 프로그램은 음식체험 프로그램으로 지난 1월 주한 외교관, 교수 등 VIP 초청 인사 대상으로 떡국 만들기 체험이 시연된 바 있으며, 제일제당이 식재료와 장소를 제공했다. 3월에는 CGV용산 골드클래스관으로 주한 외국인을 초청해 한국영화 관람 행사를 가졌다.
CJ홍보실 전순달 과장은 “CJ의 주한 외국인대상 문화체험 프로그램은 어떤 기업에서도 하고 있지 않은 새로운 도전이며 이는 무엇보다 CJ가 보유한 문화 사업 인프라가 있기에 가능하다"고 말했다. ‘‘앞으로는 초청행사에서 나아가 한국에 거주하고 있으며 한국문화에 관심이 있는 외국인은 그 누구든 수용 가능한 문화 체험 프로그램으로 확장해 나갈 계획”라고 덧붙였다.
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CJ shares culture business platforms with foreign community
By Kim Joo-hyun
CJ Group, the country’s food and entertainment giant, has set its culture business infrastructure in full throttle to help organize the “Friends of K-Culture” project, which is part of its ‘‘creating shared value” program that involves hosting a series of cultural events for the foreign community in Korea.
The project, launched this year for the first time, takes advantage of the group’s three key business areas -- food, entertainment and culture, utilizing the various platforms owned by CJ to carry out each event, while also giving foreigners opportunities to learn about and experience Korean culture in a desirable environment.
“CJ is probably one of the few, if not the only, global group in Korea that can execute this type of CSV curriculum, given that we are a culture-driven firm with all the right kinds of resources,” said Jeon Soon-dal from CJ’s PR department.
The program offers a different event every other month with a total of six events scheduled for 2014 -- most recently a Korean film screened with English subtitles. In January, the group hosted a Korean cooking experience.
Although “Friends of K-Culture” is unlike the group’s typical CSV projects, it is expected to provide the company with an indirect CSV effect, according to Jeon.
“Not only is this a chance to show the foreign community the nature of CJ and the type of work we aim to do, but it holds meaning in the fact that we are able to provide all of the components from our own platforms and resources,” she said.
“Because the project is still at its initial phase we have so far had to invite our own guests (mainly opinion leaders), but in the future, once the program fully takes off, we hope to expand our boundaries and accommodate more foreigners,” Jeon added.
The participants of the film screening event seemed pleased. “It is triply good because, one, we know it’s for a good cause, two, it’s not everyday we’re invited to watch a Korean movie provided with English subtitles and, three, we get to see our friends,” said Ecuadorian Ambassador to South Korea Nicolas Trujillo.
By Kim Joo-hyun (
jhk@heraldcorp.com)
