36-Year Veteran Foster Mother Volunteer Jeon Ok-rye Receives 'LG Hero Award'

The LG Welfare Foundation recently awarded the 'LG Hero Award' to Jeon Ok-rye at the Dongbang Social Welfare Center located in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul (from left in the photo: Jung Chang-hoon, Vice President and CEO of LG Public Welfare Foundation, Jeon Ok-rye (74)). Photo by Jung Chang-hoon

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] LG Welfare Foundation announced on the 27th that it awarded the ‘LG Hero Award’ to Jeon Ok-rye (age 74), the longest-serving foster mother volunteer in Korea who has raised 119 infants and toddlers left alone over the past 36 years.

Foster mother volunteering refers to the activity of raising and protecting infants and toddlers under 36 months who cannot be raised by their parents or family in a general household until adoption. Ms. Jeon is the oldest among about 350 foster mothers in Korea and the only volunteer who has continuously served for over 35 years.

Typically, foster mother volunteers take breaks ranging from several months to a few years before taking care of children again, but Ms. Jeon has continuously raised children without pause for 36 years. Except for one month when her son, who was overseas, returned home and underwent self-quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic this year, she has been continuously raising children.

Ms. Jeon started volunteering after moving to Bukgajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul in 1984 and learning about foster mother activities at the nearby ‘Dongbang Social Welfare Association’ by chance.

At that time, raising other children left without parents was not easy for Ms. Jeon, who was raising two elementary school sons. Raising children who had not even started walking was physically demanding, and she lost sleep worrying every time a child suddenly got sick or cried, fearing something serious might happen.

Ms. Jeon said, “Every time I had to let a child go, my heart hurt and I cried, so now I think all the tears I will ever shed in my life have dried up,” adding, “I have continued because I believe it is my duty to raise the children healthily while they are with me so that they can go to good families.”

In particular, Ms. Jeon voluntarily took care of children with illnesses and disabilities requiring professional treatment without hesitation. In 2008, a child named Yoo-jin (pseudonym), who was a premature baby suffering from heart failure and pneumothorax, recovered significantly through Ms. Jeon’s devotion and was able to receive treatment for heart disease after meeting adoptive parents who were pharmacists.

Jeon Ok-rye (74), recipient of the LG Humanism Award, caring for foster children at her home located in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul

In 2018, Young-han (pseudonym), who was 6 months old and had a congenital disability in the left leg and was in a cast, was carefully cared for by Ms. Jeon, who even arranged surgery, and was able to walk healthily when sent for adoption the following year.

Ms. Jeon also supported a child she raised for a long time from one month old until over two years old, who was not adopted due to developmental delay and autism and eventually went to a childcare facility, by sending sponsorship funds until the child became an adult. Many children adopted abroad visit Korea as teenagers or in their twenties and seek out Ms. Jeon like their biological mother.

Meanwhile, the support of her family played a big role in Ms. Jeon’s ability to continue foster mother volunteering for 36 years. Her husband Yoo Seong-gi (age 73) has become an expert in childcare by always helping with bathing and meal preparation, and her two sons, who used to organize cloth diapers and play with foster infants from a young age, still help Ms. Jeon whenever they have time even though they are now over 40 years old.

An official from LG Welfare Foundation said, “We decided to award the Hero Award to Ms. Jeon Ok-rye in hopes that our society will reflect on and spread her noble spirit of selfless love in raising sick or abandoned young children for half a lifetime.”

The LG Hero Award was established in 2015 reflecting the late Chairman Koo Bon-moo’s will that “the company repays its social responsibility to heroes who sacrificed themselves for the nation and social justice.” Since CEO Koo Kwang-mo’s inauguration, the scope of recipients has expanded to include ordinary citizens who quietly serve and perform good deeds for others in various parts of society.

Accordingly, Grandma Jeong Hee-il (age 96), who has volunteered at a free meal center for 34 years, and Director Park Jong-su (age 80), who has provided free medical treatment and meal service for 55 years, have received the LG Hero Award. To date, a total of 139 people have been awarded the LG Hero Award.

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