Han Sung Motor, Mercedes-Benz’s largest official dealer in South Korea, recently held a three-day art camp for young students as part of its corporate social responsibility program, Dream Gream (Picture) Project.

Celebrating its third anniversary this year, the program aims to help students develop their artistic talents, especially those from underprivileged families. In addition to providing financial support for art classes, all 20 students will be given the opportunity to participate in diverse cultural events, including the annual “Intensive Art Camp.”

“I try to come to every Dream Gream program,” said Ulf Ausprung, the chief executive of Han Sung Motor, who joined this year’s summer camp, held at Konjiam Resort in Gyeonggi Province on July 30, with other company officials.

“There’s always something to learn for me. The friendship between students and ambassadors (mentors from Han Sung) is very special.”

Under the theme “Harmony with Tradition and Modernity,” the art camp consists of collaborative workshops with various local artists. Some furniture items, created together with upcycle artist group Fabrikr, are also expected to be donated to local welfare centers.

“From this year, we wanted to focus more on communicating and sharing our students’ talents with society,” the CEO said. “I think donating their final outcome to welfare facilities is very meaningful.”

Han Sung Motor, which has introduced Benz cars to Korean customers since 1985, has ramped up efforts to give back to the society in recent years. Largely driven by the German CEO who joined the company in 2011, the company launched its full-fledged CSR program, the Dream Gream.

“The program is aimed at supporting students’ dreams, encouraging creativity, and giving long-term support to realize their goals,” he said. “I’ve seen many successful and emotionally rewarding cases through the program, and my wish is to further expand the coverage so that more talented students can benefit from the program.”

After the soft-landing of the program over the past years, the CEO said the company is seeking to invite more students, and increase benefits and partnerships with local entities.

The company is also encouraging more Han Sung employees to join the program as “ambassadors” to mentor students regarding their future careers, he added.

“The Dream Gream has potential for further development,” he said.

“In the longer term, we want to create a cycle in which the beneficiaries of our program can contribute back to the society by sharing their talent through volunteer work.”

The company recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture, under which Dream Gream participants and other local artists will join efforts to improve the Seoul city landscape.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)