Every year in conjunction with the Ministry of Administrative Safety and the Citizens’ Union for Safe Living and Practice, HMC hosts the Korean Children’s Safety Quiz Competition that draws participation from many children, parents and teachers. The program, which allows children to answer online quizzes on key safety issues, is intended to help children learn more about safety in fun and effective ways.
The event has grown to be a major event of its kind, being sponsored and held by cooperation between both the public and the private sectors and supported further by experts and organizations working within areas of safety. In the public sector, the event garners sponsorship from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Public Health and Welfare, the National Police Service, the National Fire Extinction and Prevention Service and the Meteorological Service. In the private sector, the event is supported by the Green Mothers’ Association, Red Cross Korea, and the Korean Children’s Safety Foundation. Expert organizations also participate, including Traffic Safety Group, Seoul Urban Railway Corporation, Korean Gas Safety Association, Korean Road Corporation, Korean Industry Safety and Public Health Corporation, Korean Consumers Society, Korean Elevator Safety Management Center, Korean Elevator Technology Center, Korean Facilities Safety Corporation, and Korean Electric Safety Corporation.
The final round of the Second Annual Children’s Safety Quiz Competition was held on the Children’s Day (Wednesday, May 5, 2010) at the Peace Square of the World Cup Park (in Mapo-gu, Seoul), with the participation of 200 children and their parents. Children who made it to the final round competed actively for the title of the Safety Quiz King/Queen. Children who scored highly in each category of the quizzes in the day’s event were given awards by the Minister of Administrative Safety and the heads of other organizations. Younger participants were given electronic supplies to help them with learning, while older participants were given opportunities to travelto other countries in the future. 170 award winning participants were also given Safe Children Awards and safety devices as their prizes. The quiz competition also featured the Children’s Safety Experience Festival.
The Children’s Safety Experience Festival featured a wide range of family-oriented programs, such as Trying out the traffic safety vehicles •Escaping smoke-filled mazes •Trying fire extinguishers •Learning CPR •Photograph exhibition on traffic safety •Gas safety and elevator safety classes, and so forth, in addition to •Face painting •Recreational activities for all family members to enjoy. The 2010 Korean Children’s Safety Quiz Competition was participated by 25,000 children in total, with 570,000 visitors to its of?cial website and generating a sensational, nationwide attention to the issue of children’s safety. HMC has also been conducting its Happyway Drive Campaign (www.happyway-drive.com) since October 2008 in an effort to spread the public awareness of the importance of safe traffic culture. The website provides animations, games and comic strips that children can enjoy and parents and teachers can use to teach their children about safety. The campaign will feature even a wider range of programs and contents beginning 2011, with additional focus on children’s safety and environmental preservation.