Choi Ji-woo attends "Africa in My Heart" exhibit with fans

Published on 2010/06/14 | Source

Hallyu star Choi Ji-woo receives a thank-you award from an official at World Vision Korea. [World Vision]

Hallyu star Choi Ji-woo attended a charity photo exhibit titled "Choi Ji-woo, Africa in My Heart" with her fans over the weekend, according to global non-profit organization World Vision on Monday.

World Vision explained through a press release that the actress showed up at the exhibition on Saturday, which displayed a collection of photos from her week-long trip to Swaziland last March.

The actress mingled with some 100 fans who also came to the gallery; Choi picked her favorite photo out of the bunch, signed it and even took a group photo with the fans.

"Seeing the pictures again is bringing back the happiness of sharing and inspiration I felt at the time", the actress was quoted as saying. "I hope many people will be inspired by the photo exhibit and take part in the sharing for children in Africa".

At the event, World Vision also handed Choi a thank-you medal for taking the Swaziland trip, which was made into a documentary and aired on MBC in April.

In early March, Choi had visited World Vision office in Swaziland's Madlangampisi where she walked barefoot for several hours to get water, installed a water handpump for the locals and spent time with children suffering from the region's water shortage.

The photo exhibition, co-hosted by World vision and Canon Korea Consumer Imaging, will be held at Seoul's Canon Plex until June 30.

All proceeds from the exhibit will be used for water projects through World Vision.

Choi, 34, first garnered attention when she appeared in popular television series "First Love" (KBS, 1996) alongside top Korean actor Bae Yong-joon. She re-united with Bae six years later in the smash hit drama "Winter Sonata" (KBS, 2002), which turned the two actors into household names throughout Asia.

Korean actress Choi Ji-woo (back row, center) takes a group photo with fans at the "Africa in My Heart" photo exhibit. [World Vision]