WeAJa Charity Flea Market starts on Wednesday
The 18th annual WeAJa Charity Flea Market co-hosted by the JoongAng Ilbo and JTBC will take place this year on Bungaejangter, a secondhand trading app, starting Wednesday.
The WeAJa Charity Flea Market is the largest flea market in Korea where people can buy and sell used goods to promote recycling. The proceeds are used to help the underprivileged. It was launched in 2005 to commemorate the media group’s 40th anniversary.
Marking its 18th year, this year’s WeAJa Charity Flea Market will be held online on Bungaejangter, a secondhand trading application, from Oct. 5 through 20.
Second hand items traded on the Bungaejangter app with the WeAJa hashtag will have their purchase fee automatically donated to WeStart.
Participants will also be able to directly donate things that they no longer use.
After applying to donate on the app, participants can send their used items through a delivery service from a nearby convenience store, which will be donated to a Korean nonprofit organization and charity shop Beautiful Store.
Items donated by celebrities will also be auctioned both online and offline.
Donations by celebrities will be sold at auction online from Oct. 5 to Nov. 23 on WeStart website and the Bungaejangter app. The offline venue, the WeAJa Eco Village, will be open from Nov. 19 to 20 at the cinema chain Megabox’s Coex branch.
The donated items include new home jerseys of the Korean national football team signed by football stars Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae.
Golf player Chun In-gee donated a driver and a flag pin.
The flag pin is from the Congressional Country Club, where Chun won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in June.
Baseball players from SSG Landers Choo Shin-soo and Kim Kwang-hyun each donated a signed baseball.
“Ten years ago, in 2012, I donated a signed ball and a baseball bat to WeAJa, and I’m very happy to participate in the event again,” Choo said. “Although it’s a small gift, I feel proud to be able to help low-income children.”
Other donated items include those from singer Lee Chan-won from TV Chosun’s hit audition show “Mr Trot” and the stars of JTBC’s show “Let’s Play Soccer.”
The WeAJa Corporate and Group Donation Special Sales will be held on Nov. 19 at the Beautiful Store, where other goods donated by companies, nonprofit organizations and individuals will be sold at fixed prices.
All proceeds will go to children from low-income families and communities affected by the climate crisis.
For more information, visit weaja.joins.com.
BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]
