A KT KkoomPoom Classroom mentor and mentees take a selfie at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday, where the KT Wiz and the Hanwha Eagles hold a KBO League professional baseball game. Courtesy of KT

By Baek Byung-yeul

KT Kkoompoom Classroom mentors, comprised of adults who received various rehabilitation treatments with the help of KT, started their activities as mentors to children with similar hearing impairments, the company said Sunday.

The company said that the mentors invited their mentees to Suwon KT Wiz Park on Saturday, where the KBO League professional baseball game between the KT WIZ and the Hanwha Eagles was held, to watch and cheer together.

The mentor group is a social contribution organization, allowing adults, who have graduated from KT’s hearing impairment support program and have worked as healthy members of society, to support the growth of younger students with hearing impairments.

The company has been supporting the rehabilitation of those with a hearing impairment through customized programs since 2012. KT said the mentors have a variety of jobs, including bowlers, designers, baristas, government officers, office workers and university students. After choosing its mentors, KT held the inauguration ceremony of KT Kkoompoom Classroom Mentor Group on Sept. 9.

“I was able to meet various friends and teachers at KT Kkoompoom Classroom, and I benefited greatly from the experience of communicating with people, expressing my opinions and sharing each other’s opinions,” said a mentor, surnamed Lee, who is working as an intern at the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

“I applied for the mentor group without hesitation as I am determined to give back and contribute to the healthy future of mentees.”

KT organized the first activity regarding the KT Kkoompoom Classroom Mentor Group to cheer for a baseball team together in order to understand each other’s personalities. Through the experience, the mentors and the mentees had a chance to get along naturally, the company said.

KT has been helping to treat and rehabilitate children with hearing impairments since 2003. In collaboration with Yonsei University Health System and Jeju National University Hospital, the company has helped children receive cochlear implants and undergo various rehabilitation programs, including speech rehabilitation.

Through this social contribution program, KT has helped 26,230 hearing-impaired children adapt to daily life as of the first half of 2023.

“Through our ESG activities, KT will continue to implement ESG management activities in various fields so that a virtuous cycle of sharing can be rooted in the society and hearing-impaired children can grow into one of the members of the society,” Kim Moo-sung, head of KT’s ESG management, said.