Daesang renovates 7 campus eateries, offers 700 students meal vouchers

Daesang Group announced Tuesday that it has carried out its "Chunchun's Meal" project, a corporate social responsibility initiative that renovates small restaurants near university campuses and helps feed students in the area.

Launched in 2016, the project upgrades the interior and exterior environments and menus of long-standing eateries popular with students near universities, while also boosting their visibility. Members of the "Daesang University Student Volunteer Corps" lead the renovation efforts, drawing on their individual academic skills and ideas.

The seven restaurants that participated in last year's project saw their average monthly sales rise 30 percent compared with before, with the top-performing restaurant recording a gain of up to 58 percent.

This year, seven restaurants near university campuses across four regions — Seoul, Bucheon, Seongnam and Cheonan — were selected through surveys and on-site evaluations, with Daesang providing 170 million won ($124,000) in renovation funding. The selected restaurants are Kimbap University Ramyun Department near Konkuk University, Hyeongje Sikdang near Sogang University and Yonsei University, Burger to Burger near Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seogi's Sushi near Korea University, Memilkkot near Catholic University, Geujip Kimbap near Gachon University, and Byeori's Rice near Sangmyung University.

The company also set up a meal support program. It plans to distribute 10,000-won meal vouchers — redeemable at any of the seven selected restaurants — to 100 people per restaurant, for a total of 700 recipients among young people near the campuses.

"This year we expanded our efforts beyond physical renovations to also support young people struggling with food costs, and we hope this becomes an opportunity for more youth and local small-business owners to grow together," said Kim Kyung-suk, head of Daesang's ESG management division.