[JoonaAng Daily] Thousands hike along Cheonggye for the BBB

May 21, 2007 Thousands of Koreans and foreigners on Saturday gathered at Seoul’s Cheonggye Plaza to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Korea BBB Association, a network of volunteer interpreters that assists foreigners in Korea and Koreans outside the country. “Beyond the language barrier, we are all friends,” read a sign on the orange balloons, held by about 5,000 participants, 1,000 of whom were foreigners, organizers said. They walked the 5.8-kilometer (3.6-mile) round-trip along the stream from the waterfall near Cheonggye Plaza to Ogansu Bridge in Jongno 6-ga and back. The BBB, or Before Babel Brigade, has been providing free interpretation services via cell phones to about 100,000 foreigners in the country and Koreans visiting other countries. More than 3,200 volunteers offer the service in 17 languages, according to the association. Diplomats from 17 countries, including Russia, Hungary, Australia, Peru and Laos and their families, joined the walk. “It is very impressive that one can get help whenever or wherever he or she wants through a cell phone,” said Raba Hadid, Algerian ambassador to Korea. Janet, 52-year-old office worker from the United States who wanted to be named only by her first name, said she met Han Hyun-woo, 52, a Korean businessman, and his wife, when registering for the event. The three walked together.“Our conversation started from weather and moved on to religion and philosophy,” she said. “I met good friends today that I have wanted for the past three years of my stay in Korea.” After returning from the walk, traditional performances by Turkish, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai performers were held. The BBB was launched by the JoongAng Ilbo in 2002 for the World Cup that year. By Lee Hyun-goo, Lee Esther JoongAng Ilbo

Source: JoonAng Ilbo May 19th

[출처] BBB 청계천 걷기대회 뉴스기사작성자 비비비