Martin Li

    martin.mouse@163.com

    SOUTH Koreans who reside in Shenzhen recently sold a variety of Korean products to raise funds for charity in Donghai residential community, Xiangmihu Subdistrict, Futian District.

    The charity sale is part of the ongoing six-day Cultural Exchange Week between China and South Korea, which opened Friday evening. It was organized by the foreign affairs office of the district government, the subdistrict office and Shenzhen’s Korean Chamber of Commerce.

    Among the most popular Korean commodities were skin care products, small household appliances and clothes.

    All income from the charity sale will be donated to Futian Charity Society, which helps poverty-stricken children and people with disabilities.

    A South Korean woman surnamed Pak brought notebooks and ballpoint pens to sell.

    “We hope to introduce South Korean culture to Chinese people,” said Pak, who has been living with her husband and two children in the community for 14 years.

    Another Korean woman surnamed Yoo said she met many Chinese people during the event, which is a good opportunity to communicate.

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    Aside from the charity sale, the cultural exchange also features a variety of activities aimed at displaying Chinese and Korean cultures, including performances of folk dances from the two countries, exhibitions of traditional Chinese and Korean clothes and lectures on making South Korea’s beloved kimchi, as well as other Korean dishes.

    Most of the activities will be held at the square of Donghai Plaza.

    “We hope such cultural exchanges between Chinese people and South Koreans can be organized more often, so that expats from other foreign countries can also have a chance to learn about the cultures and become more involved in a multicultural family,” said Yang Chang Soo, South Korea’s consul general in Guangzhou, at Friday’s opening ceremony.

    The Donghai community is home to about 1,000 expats, 80 percent of whom hail from South Korea, according to official statistics.

    “We get on very well with Chinese residents in the community. We taught them how to make South Korean rice cakes and they taught us Chinese handicrafts. Life here is colorful,” said Kim Dae-soon, vice chairman of the South Korean Chamber of Commerce in Shenzhen, which has been active in promoting cultural exchange between China and South Korea.

    Kim was one of ten expats who received an international friendship award from the district government in September.