“Earthquake Alert: A 6.5 magnitude earthquake has occurred off the coast of Gampo!”
Students at Gampo Elementary School in Gyeongju don safety helmets and begin to evacuate in an orderly fashion. This disaster safety training session was part of Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C)’s ‘Disaster Prevention CSR Projects’ initiative, aimed at improving how children respond to disasters.

Hyundai E&C has observed the increasing frequency of earthquakes—including earthquakes with magnitudes over 5.0—over the past decade in South Korea, such as the 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Gyeongju and the 5.4 magnitude earthquake in Pohang. With this surge in seismic activity, the company planned out the ‘Disaster Prevention CSR Projects’ initiative to protect vulnerable children in times of natural disaster. To achieve this, Hyundai E&C has partnered with the Construction Industry Foundation for Social Responsibility and Plan International Korea to conduct disaster safety education and training for elementary school students and teachers in earthquake-prone areas since 2019.

Disaster safety training consists of safety education and evacuation drills. The detailed programs were developed by Hyundai E&C in response to the lack of systematic educational training programs in South Korea to prepare for disastrous situations such as earthquakes and fires. Hyundai E&C provides hands-on safety education and training programs that include how to properly use helmets, learning about earthquakes through song, and mock evacuation drills using rescue handkerchiefs, helping students and teachers remain calm and collected in emergency situations.

Hyundai E&C uses its own proprietary disaster safety products for mock evacuation drills. Traditional earthquake evacuation methods involved protecting the head with a bag or indoor shoe pouch, which was not ideal as it made it difficult for evacuees to maintain balance during an earthquake. To address this, Hyundai E&C developed South Korea’s first lightweight, foldable disaster safety helmet, weighing only 320g.

This foldable safety helmet is inspired by the ones used at construction sites, making it easy to store. It also features South Korea’s first-ever domestic wireless identification (RFID) tag, allowing evacuees who have gotten lost or been buried under fallen debris to be quickly located.

Hyundai E&C has focused not only on developing helmets, but also on evacuation drills, raising awareness, and safety education, working consistently to enhance practical disaster safety measures. Thanks to these efforts, students and teachers who participated in the disaster safety training said they were able to develop improved survival responses by experiencing simulated disasters.

Hyundai E&C’s ‘Disaster Prevention CSR Projects’ initiative began in Gyeongju in 2019 and has since expanded to Busan, Pohang, and Uljin, with plans to extend the program to more regions of South Korea year by year.