What Was the Best Day of Your Life?

At one in the afternoon on March 14, a bulletin board set up on Ｃｈｅｏｎｇｇｙｅｃｈｅｏｎ’s Mojeongyo was brimming with heart-shaped notes carrying handwritten stories under the theme, “The Best Day of My Life.” Each date carried with it a different story.

The board included notes reading: “May 24, the day I met my lovely wife”; “September 30, the day I was discharged from military service. Hooray!”; “March 2, the day our company received new employees.”

The day’s event was part of a happiness sharing project dubbed, The Best Day of My Life” co-sponsored by Dong-A Ilbo and the international relief organization Good Neighbors.

The campaign donates money after adding as many zeros as the donor wants to the date a donor designates as the best day of his or her life. The fund will be used to help Korean children suffering from famine, as well as impoverished children abroad, including North Korea.

Good Neighbors began the campaign as 20 or so staff members and volunteers handed out badges and balloons at Mojeongyo, alongside Ｃｈｅｏｎｇｇｙｅ Plaza.

Despite the cold spring wind, passers-by not only jotted down their personal memoirs, but also made on-the-spot donations, sticking 100-won coins onto the board.

Lee Byung-ryong (35), who traveled from Geojedo, Gyeongnam Province, to see Cheonggyecheon, promised to donate 9,210 won each month, citing September 21, the birthday of his six-year-old daughter Da-yeon, the best day of his life.

Park Dong-il, Good Neighbors’ promotions chief, said, “We planned a campaign that links personally special days with the concept of sharing and allows people to commemorate them. The campaign aims to inspire a donation-oriented culture, regardless of amount.”

“The Best Day of My Life” campaign can be accessed through its official homepage www.myspecialday.org.

gaea@donga.com