KAIST Chinese Student Donates Medical Supplies "Our Enemy is COVID-19"

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] "Our common enemy is the cruel disease itself. There is no difference between countries, and helping each other is helping oneself."

The 'KAIST Chinese Community Members,' consisting of 105 people, donated medical supplies worth approximately 2.5 million KRW to Daegu City Hall on the 5th, stating, "Fighting this disease together is the priority, and we have only done what we can."

They expressed their intention to donate by sending an email to the International Faculty and Student Support Team on campus on the 27th of last month. They started fundraising to support medical staff in their homeland. With 2.49 million KRW collected over 12 days from January 27, they purchased five types of supplies: 180 protective caps, 1,100 medical protective caps, 15 protective goggles, 2 sets of shield masks, and 57 protective suits.

However, during the approximately 20 days of waiting for delivery, confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in Korea surged to nearly 1,000. They judged that using the relief supplies in Korea would be more urgent than sending them to China.

Mr. An Kkuoyuen, the representative of the group and a master's student in the Department of Computer Science, said, "Thanks to the strong self-defense awareness of the Chinese members regarding COVID-19 and the special consideration of the school, all Chinese members were able to return to campus healthily," adding, "When asked about donating to Korea, all donors supported it without hesitation."

The donated supplies from the 'KAIST Chinese Community' were first delivered to the KAIST Clinic, the on-campus medical facility, on the 2nd. Subsequently, the relief supplies were handed over to the Social Disaster Division of Daegu City Hall on the 4th.

Lee Yoon-jung, director of the KAIST Clinic, expressed gratitude, saying, "We thank the Chinese members who donated with warm hearts," and added, "We took measures to ensure that the pure and beautiful intentions of the donors, along with the supplies, are delivered to where they are most needed."

Mr. An said, "There is a Chinese proverb that says, 'If you receive even a drop of kindness from others, you should repay with a whole spring.' Though it is a small gesture, we believe it is our duty to help the Korean medical staff who are facing difficulties."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.