KOTRA staff bake bread to share with local neighbors

Employees of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) baked bread and delivered it to neighbors in the local community as part of a volunteer outreach effort.

KOTRA said Sunday that it held a "bread of love" volunteer event Friday at the Korean Red Cross Namdong Service Center. Twenty-four participants took part, including staff from KOTRA's ESG Management Innovation Office and members of the in-house volunteer club "Left Hands."

Participants received hygiene and safety training from a professional baker before taking part in every step of the process — mixing dough, baking and packaging. The egg tarts and focaccia they made were delivered to the community center of Poidong Reconstruction Village nearby.

A KOTRA official said the event was "a meaningful occasion to feel a sense of solidarity with the local community through making and sharing bread together," adding that the agency hoped the bread, made with one heart by its employees, would bring a small moment of joy to neighbors.

KOTRA plans to hold a second baking volunteer event on July 11 at the Korean Red Cross Seoul branch baking center. The initiative reflects a broader effort by the public institution to extend its community engagement beyond one-off events.

KOTRA President Kang Gyeong-seong said he hoped the bread, baked with the sincerity and care of the agency's employees, would serve as "a warm message of encouragement to the neighbors around us." He added that KOTRA would continue to pursue employee-driven social contribution activities, fulfilling its responsibilities as a public institution and putting the value of mutual growth into practice.