

2024.05.22 Hyundai Motor Group
May 5th of this year marks the 102nd Children's Day, a day to reaffirm the importance of children, who are our future generation. This is explicitly stated in law as well. The Child Welfare Act includes the provision: 'By promoting the spirit of love and protection for children, and striving for their righteous, beautiful, wise, and courageous upbringing, May 5th is designated as Children's Day annually.' It is remarkable that even the typically austere legal system emphasizes 'love and protection for children'.
What specific actions can we take for children? Ensuring they grow up in a secure society where they feel safe should be our foremost priority. Education is one of the key areas to achieve this goal, Demanding collective efforts from each of us. What children learn in their early years can profoundly impact their lives. By imparting safety education to children and teaching them how to navigate hazardous situations, they will carry these skills into adulthood. Moreover, like the transmission of knowledge, teaching safety guidelines to their own young children will play a vital role in fostering a safer society for all.
Hyundai Motor Group operates 'Kids Auto Parks' in two locations: within Children’s Grand Park in Seoul's Gwangjin-gu, and at Gangdong Tourist Complex in Buk-gu, Usan. Kids Auto Parks offer traffic safety experience education for children aged 5 to 10. The first facility opened in Seoul in 2009. In 2019, to bridge the gap in traffic safety education between the capital region and local areas and to promote a traffic safety culture in the community, HMG established a second facility in Ulsan, home to the company's largest plant.
Both parks offer programs that include regular experiential classes, special education classes, and virtual licensing tests. Regular experiential classes take place from Tuesday to Saturday and include seatbelt experience, pedestrian training, and driving sessions. Special classes take place on Sundays, offering the opportunity to watch 3D traffic safety videos and participate in driving experiences. Moreover, elementary students who complete the experiential class and pass the licensing exam receive a 'Children's Traffic Safety License,' which helps to maintain their interest in traffic safety.
One of the major features of Kids Auto Parks is their educational programs, which are focused on children's perspective. Children delight in interactive learning and physical engagement, preferring hands-on materials over textual or pictorial descriptions. Kids Auto Parks organize special events featuring activities such as crafting and unique driving experiences not found elsewhere.
Kids Auto Parks are open to everyone. All educational activities are free with prior reservation, and walk-in registrations are accepted when slots are available due to low reservation numbers or no-shows. Additionally, both individuals and groups can apply as long as they meet the age requirements. Toddler experiential classes are for ages 4 to 5, elementary experiential and special classes are for grades 1 to 3, and virtual licensing tests are for grades 1 to 4.
To celebrate Children's Day this year, Kids Auto Parks will host a 'Children's Day Special Event for Families.' While regular educational programs are typically for children only, this event allows parents to join in and create joyful memories with their children. At this special event, attendees can enjoy various crafting activities, driving experiences, and specially designated photo zones for photography sessions.
Hyundai Motor Group diligently fulfills its social responsibility as a mobility company by contributing to the creation of a safe society through traffic safety education for children. Between 2009 and 2023, Kids Auto Parks welcomed over 200,000 children.
Located on the lobby floor of the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Kids Marine Park is the first dedicated children's marine environmental education facility around the capital area. Its goal is to awaken environmental consciousness among future generations and contribute to the creation of clean oceans. Since its opening in June 2022, Kids Marine Park has welcomed and provided educational programs for over 25,000 children until March 2024.
Kids Marine Park provides interactive educational programs about marine environments tailored to children's perspectives. With eight facilities designed for children aged 6 to 10, they can create waterways with sand, observe marine conservation species, or witness the process of marine pollution as balls roll along rails. Moreover, children can learn about the importance of marine environmental protection through various experiences, such as riding Future Air Mobility (AAM) to collect trash.
Expert guides accompany children throughout all sessions, actively encouraging their participation. As a result, children can easily comprehend various marine environmental issues, including the preservation of ecosystems. Kids Marine Park operates from Monday to Friday, 10 AM to 5 PM, and is accessible to all free of charge with an age-appropriate online reservation.
Kids Marine Park is a facility with a high visitor satisfaction rate. Survey results show that 95.2% of visitors were satisfied, with predominantly positive feedbacks such as, 'It was satisfying to see experts educating children on environmental issues in an age-appropriate manner,' and 'The marine environmental education, a topic not often addressed, was beneficial for both children and parents.'
The ocean is a collective asset for all of humanity, serving as a vital habitat for future generations. Hyundai Motor Group will continue to develop diverse programs through Kids Marine Park, encouraging children to love and protect the ocean.
The 'Transparent Umbrella Sharing Campaign,' launched in 2010, is a flagship social contribution initiative by Hyundai Mobis. The campaign aims to prevent traffic and safety accidents on rainy days by providing children with transparent umbrellas to ensure their visibility. Hyundai Mobis has distributed over 1.33 million umbrellas by 2023.
The distributed umbrellas are eco-friendly, crafted from biodegradable vinyl and lightweight reinforced material, providing a lighter and sturdier alternative to conventional ones. Furthermore, by applying reflective bias tape, drivers can easily identify children using umbrellas even at nighttime. And a whistle is attached to the handle, enabling children to seek help from their surroundings in emergencies.
The Transparent Umbrella Sharing Campaign goes beyond merely distributing umbrellas; it also supports educational programs to ensure that children, teachers, and parents alike understand the importance of traffic safety. Hyundai Mobis operates the educational app 'School Road' for children and conducts direct traffic safety experiential education by visiting schools as well.
The 'School Road' app incorporates eye-tracking technology into its educational content, enabling children watching videos to confirm their awareness of potential dangers. As they view first-person perspective videos of their journey to school, children can identify previously unnoticed hazards and receive detailed lessons about them. These personalized contents significantly enhance children's engagement. Additionally, through the presentation of videos and quizzes covering topics such as crosswalks, blind spots, and pedestrian safety, children can identify and learn from situations where they were most careless.
In 2023, Hyundai Mobis conducted various experiential programs related to transportation, encompassing pedestrian, automotive, aviation, railway, and maritime safety. These programs allowed children to experience traffic safety firsthand, extending beyond traditional classroom lessons. This year, Hyundai Mobis expanded the scope of education to encompass not only transportation safety but also disaster prevention, fire evacuation, and fire extinguisher usage. They even collaborated with the Coast Guard to teach proper life jacket usage, ensuring thorough preparation of the content.
The Transparent Umbrella Sharing Campaign precisely addresses the concerns of parents. Despite their best efforts, it's impossible for them to personally provide safety education in every aspect. Offering children continuous high-quality safety education could contribute to a slightly safer society.
Hyundai Motor's commitment to children extends beyond domestic borders. As a major player in the global automotive market, Hyundai strives to fulfill its responsibilities worldwide. 'Hyundai Hope on Wheels' is a prominent social contribution activity of Hyundai Motor America, endeavors to protect pediatric cancer patients globally.
Hyundai Hope On Wheels originated in 1998 through a collaboration between Hyundai Motor America and its dealers to support the ‘Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.’ The foundation was established thereafter, with dealers nationwide in the United States participating in fundraising efforts for children afflicted by pediatric cancer. Currently, the Hope On Wheels Foundation is regarded as one of the top three pediatric cancer-related foundations in the United States.
Both Hyundai Motor America and its dealers take great pride in Hyundai Hope On Wheels. With over 840 dealers involved, each contributes a portion of their earnings to the foundation with every vehicle sale. Funds collected are donated to hospitals treating pediatric cancer and institutions researching pediatric cancer treatments. From its launch in 1998 until 2023, the total donated amount has reached $225 million.
Hyundai Hope On Wheels is also committed to improving awareness of pediatric cancer across various activities throughout American society. In 2023, commemorating its 25th anniversary, the foundation conducted approximately 60 hand-printing ceremonies with patients, doctors, and Hyundai dealers, visiting children's hospitals nationwide. During this time, $25 million was donated to 66 hospitals and institutions. Additionally, in September, designated as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, the foundation hosted a commemorative event in Washington, DC. The event was attended by over 270 researchers, sponsors, partners, and Hyundai officials.
Hyundai Hope On Wheels is continuously striving to increase the survival rate of pediatric cancer. Compared to the 77% rate at the foundation's establishment, it has notably increased to 85%, with a goal of reaching 90%. As part of these efforts, the foundation plans to achieve a cumulative donation of $250 million by contributing $26 million for its 26th-anniversary program this year.
Furthermore, Hyundai Hope On Wheels implements a $5 million 'Survivorship' program to support the newfound growth of pediatric cancer survivors. The fund is used for treatment record management, telemedicine, and long-term care, aiming to facilitate the rehabilitation and everyday recovery of pediatric cancer survivors. Moving forward, Hyundai Hope On Wheels will continue to expand its support to reach a wider range of children, aspiring to become Hyundai's leading global CSR initiative.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, Hyundai Motor Group conducts a variety of social contribution activities aimed at nurturing our future generations. Creating positive changes through proper actions to ensure that everyone can share in the desirable future we all envision. It is imperative for all of us to collaborate to ensure that future generations can enjoy a happier and healthier life than the present. Hats off to Hyundai Motor Group's efforts for children.
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