[Heroes' Belated Graduation] is a CSR-oriented campaign conducted by the company Binggrae, which has supported the descendants of independence activists since 2018. To commemorate Korea's Independence Day, we held a honorable graduation ceremony to raise awareness and appreciation for student independence activists, which significantly boosted the company's attention and recognition.

Binggrae is food company of South Korea that has been continuously supporting the descendants of independence activists since 2018. The chairman of Binggrae is the granddaughter's husband of one of the most famous independence activists in Korea.

Korea's Independence Day is a national holiday in South Korea commemorating the country's liberation from colonial rule on August 15, 1945. This day is celebrated by all South Koreans as a day to honor the sacrifice and dedication of independence activists. The citizens of South Korea hold deep gratitude towards these independence activists, who are considered national heroes. However, many people are unaware of the student independence activists and the fact that they were expelled from their schools for their involvement in the independence movement.

Also, in Korea, there is a culture where students spend almost a year preparing for how they will pose for their graduation album photos. Receiving a graduation album is such an important tradition at Korean graduation ceremonies that every student wants to have one.

Korea was under colonial rule for 35 years, from August 29, 1910, to August 15, 1945.

During this time, many Korean citizens stood against oppression, fighting for their country's independence. Among them were 2,596 brave young students.

Student independence activists faced harsh consequences for their involvement in the national liberation movement, including imprisonment and expulsion from school. Binggrae, long-standing supporters of patriots' descendants since 2018, aimed to honor these students with the graduation ceremony they truly deserve.

Heroes' Belated Graduation: The Honorable Ceremony for Student Independence Activists Who Missed Graduating Due to Their Involvement in the Independence Movement.

We wanted to bring attention to the unjust fact that they were expelled for participating in the independence movement and to offer them graduation now, liberating them from the label of "expelled students." Thus, we initiated a campaign to hold a graduation ceremony for them.

Since the original patriots are no longer with us, we invited their descendants to a meaningful graduation ceremony. The fact that the student independence activists were recorded as expelled students was in itself a source of astonishment and shock because independence activists were sacred and respected beings in South Korea.

The most belated graduation, and the most special graduation.

We utilized technology to achieve greater PR effects and to provide deeper emotional impact to the target audience of our campaign. Using AI deep learning and de-aging technologies, we restored their school days appearance which couldn’t be found. The rejuvenated images, together with their notable records, were thoughtfully assembled into a yearbook, which was then presented to the activists' descendants at the ceremony. And then, we restored a representative of student independence activists as a hologram for a special and touching graduation speech.  The descendants' tears evoked empathy from many people because they were ‘parent-child relationship’ before being independence activists.

We contacted descendants of student independence activists spread across all regions of South Korea, one by one. And we prepared an honorary graduation ceremony for them. The ceremony was held at the Independence Hall of Korea to enhance its significance, and key national figures responsible for veterans' affairs also attended. At the event, the descendants of the independence activists received diplomas and graduation albums of restored images they had not been able to receive during their lifetimes. Also, we restored a representative of student independence activists as a hologram for a special and touching graduation speech leaving many attendees deeply moved. Furthermore, we donated graduation albums to schools and libraries nationwide and held exhibitions. TVING, South Korea's most popular OTT streaming service, which had never posted original content other than its own, adopted 'Heroes' Belated Graduation' as its first original content.

-13.7M+ VIEWS and 54.6M+ IMPRESSIONS Just In A Week
(From Social To Traditional Media)

-Extensive Media Coverage (Without Media Coverage Request)

- Naturally spread across YouTube influencers, online communities, and social media (Without Any Media Spend)

-The citizens of South Korea highly praised "Heroes' Belated Graduation" as the best example of utilizing AI technology in CSR and creativity. And above all, the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs' initiative has enabled our heroes to graduate after a century and receive a diploma in the name of the country, shedding their label as 'expelled' students.

-With the support of positive consumer responses, Binggrae recorded an 'A' grade in the Korean ESG Standards Institute's ESG evaluation for five consecutive years.

Binggrae placed sincerity as the highest value in the [Heroes’ Belated Graduation] campaign. Despite the student independence activists' sacrifices for the country, history remembers these activists as ‘expelled’ students. We wanted to eliminate this dishonorable title of being expelled students. Using AI technology, we restored the school days looks of them and delivered graduation albums to the descendants. This series of actions served to alleviate the lifelong sorrow of the student independence activists and their descendants. Above all, a lot of people who empathized with the sincerity, showed interest and support for the campaign.