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Ludhiana: Brooms in hands, South Korean students deliver a powerful message
The students, volunteers of ASEZ (Save the Earth A to Z), are on a three-week tour to Ludhiana; The volunteers were joined by local students along with municipal corporation zone D commisioner Jasdeep Singh Sekhon and local Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Shah and Vishal Batra
Coming from the land of BTS and K-dramas, a group of seven South Korean university students on Wednesday carried out a cleanliness awareness drive in the city as part of a cultural exchange programme.
The students, volunteers of ASEZ (Save the Earth A to Z), are on a three-week tour to the city. ASEZ is a humanitarian initiative by the Church of God that maintains volunteers across the world and sends them to different countries to explore the culture and spread the message of creating a sustainable future.
The volunteers were joined by local students along with municipal corporation zone D commisioner Jasdeep Singh Sekhon and local Aam Aadmi Party leaders Manish Shah and Vishal Batra.
The foreign students swept the streets around the park in Rishi Nagar and cleaned the park to draw the attention of the residents towards cleanliness.
“Cleanliness is that one essential thing which is easy to achieve and has far-reaching effects for both the environment and those who live in it,” Su A, a 19-year-old social welfare student from Seoul, said.
When asked about what prompted them to lead the cleanliness drive, the students said they wanted to contribute to the city’s efforts to improve the quality of life and the idea resonated very well with their message.
“We come from Seoul, a city known for its cleanliness standards,” one of them said while talking about the drive.
The guests, who came to the city on January 17, aren’t just driven by the noble cause alone, but are also using their time here to try out the things they have heard about back home.
Su A said that the local food was very spicy for them as compared to the South Korean food. Two things she relished the most were the humble “aloo paratha and samosa”.
“I would love to come back here,” she remarked.
Joshua, a 22-year-old engineering undergraduate, is fascinated by Indian culture and this is his second trip to the country. “I like to travel and explore cultures, especially India. I was here in 2022 as well. Back then I visited Chhatisgarh,” he said.
President of the Ludhiana division of ASEZ, Libu Varghese said that college students are part of the international volunteer group, which has been working in different cities of the country. “Their aim is to ‘save the earth’ from pollutants/pollution and develop the habit of healthy living among residents,” he said.
Coming from the land of K-dramas, which are a hit with Gen Z here, they surprisingly are aware of Bollywood. All of them recalled the Amir Khan-starrer “Three Idiots”.
“We have been received very well and are being taken good care of,” said one of them.
Talking about the initiative, commissioner Sekhon said, “This is a great initiative where these students are not just getting the chance to explore a new culture and people but also spreading the noble message of cleanliness.”
“These students approached us and said they would like to do something to send out a message regarding the issue and we thought about organising this drive,” he added
