Busan chamber marks chuseok with rice cake sharing event at HJ shipyard

The Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a chuseok "safety songpyeon sharing event" Tuesday morning at HJ Shipbuilding & Construction's Yeongdo shipyard, distributing rice cakes and drinks to more than 2,800 workers from HJ and its partner companies.

The event was part of the "Busan Shipbuilding Industry Regional Co-prosperity Gap Reduction Support Project," a joint initiative by the Busan chamber, the city of Busan and the Ministry of Employment and Labor. It was presented under a prime-subcontractor co-prosperity program called "7 Companies, 7 Colors."

The chamber provided chuseok songpyeon sets, while HJ Shipbuilding & Construction contributed sikhye, a traditional sweet rice drink. The prime contractor's active participation on behalf of subcontractor workers heading home for the holiday was seen as a demonstration of the co-prosperity spirit between prime and subcontractors.

"Getting songpyeon and sikhye during lunch just before chuseok made me feel the holiday spirit, even if just for a moment," one subcontractor employee said.

An HJ Shipbuilding & Construction official said the company had been looking for ways to join a subcontractor worker welfare program it was participating in for the first time this year. "It is a small gesture, but we hope it brought some warmth to the workers on the ground ahead of the holiday," the official said.

Kim Tae-gyun, head of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry's public projects division, said the chamber had introduced the "7 Companies, 7 Colors" program — led by prime contractors — to expand welfare support for subcontractor employees, and that HJ Shipbuilding & Construction's enthusiastic participation had created a positive atmosphere ahead of the holiday. "We will actively support the expansion of welfare for subcontractor workers through a variety of programs tailored to each individual workplace," he said.