Donation Fairies: Notable Donations Following The Seoul Floods

By now, we’re sure many of you have seen the photos and videos of the devastation left in the wake of the floods caused by the heavy downpour that hit Seoul just over a week ago. Though South Korea has always been prone to heavy rain during the monsoon season, this particular event was extremely out of the ordinary, and happened due to an unfortunate weather phenomenon caused by global warming.

As a result much of the Southern region of Seoul, particularly Gangnam, was flooded in waters as much as 10 metres (33 feet) deep, causing mass destruction to property, flooded homes and even the loss of life. However, in the face of disaster is when people come together and helping one another is a core value of Korean society. As such, a number of Korean celebrities have made generous donations, so we thought we’d shout out a few notable donations we think you should know about.

(Please note, this list is not extensive and does not cover every single celebrity who has donated, nor will it be updated after the date of publishing.)

IU

The nation’s little sister, IU has always been known for her continued and generous donations to many charities in South Korea, and this occasion was no different; she donated 100 million won (~$76K) to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association, the main charity working to help those displaced or disadvantaged by the disaster. In the last 2 years, IU has donated over 2 billion won (~$1.5M) to a number of different causes.

j-hope

Fresh off the success of his solo debut promotion, BTS’ j-hope also made a donation of 100 million won to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association; j-hope is also an artist known for his frequent donations to charity, particularly those focused on youth education and welfare.

GOT7’s Jinyoung

Jinyoung also made a donation of 30 million won (~$23K) to the Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association - making this one of his biggest donations yet, and this money will be used to restore the homes of victims of the floods. Jinyoung has been known to constantly make donations over the past few years, raising the amount each time.

Kang Tae Oh

Rising actor and leading male in the trending Netflix drama ‘Extraordinary Attorney Woo’, Kang Tae Oh made a generous donation of 20 million won (~$15K). This comes just before he is due to attend his military service, showing even more generosity as he won’t have much income during his time in the military.

PSY

Though the majority of donations have been made to Hope Bridge as it is the leading charity in fighting the disaster, there are also other organisations who have been working in the aid and relief of those affected. PSY made a donation of 100 million won to the Korean Red Cross which will also be put towards rehousing those displaced by the floods.

Park Na Rae

Comedian Park Na Rae also deserves an honourable mention, despite currently being hospitalised following her own surgery, she still had the heart to donate directly to those in need. Rather than donating to a charity that focuses on the flood relief, she donated to a charity that was directly affected by the flood: Community Chest of Korea, a welfare facility for the severely disabled.

Again, while this is not an extensive list of every single artist or celebrity who has donated, we wanted to highlight these few for their continued charitability and the thoughtfulness of their donations. As a Korea based organisation, we would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who donated or showed concern and support for those affected by this event.

If you would like to donate, you can check out the official charity pages below:

Hope Bridge Disaster Relief Association

Korea Red Cross

Community Chest of Korea

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Writer: Han (O.L)

Editor: Han (O.L)