"Eung-eori Pul-eotda" Literacy Class 80-Year-Old Grandmother Donates Scholarship Fund

Saved 1 Million Won on Medical Expenses by Learning Hangul for 6 Years

Residents of Jinwoldong Hanguk Adelium and Baegun 2-dong Also Join Donation Effort

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] “Please use this for students who, like me, were unable to receive an education. This scholarship fund was prepared by saving on medical expenses.”

From an elderly person in her 80s who learned Hangul at a literacy class to village residents who donated proceeds from a bazaar, year-end warmth for nurturing local talent continues in the Nam-gu district of Gwangju.

According to Nam-gu on the 23rd, the scholarship donation by grandmother Park Deok-im (85), who resides in Jinwol-dong, is giving quiet inspiration to the local community.

Recently, grandmother Park visited the Jinwol-dong Administrative Welfare Center, told the staff, “Thank you for teaching me Hangul,” handed over a purple envelope, and then left.

The outside of the envelope had the grandmother’s name and address handwritten in a crooked manner, and inside the envelope was 1 million won in cash, saved by cutting back on medical expenses.

The reason for donating the scholarship was the regret over not being able to learn to read and write due to poverty and the gratitude for resolving the emotional burden through the literacy class.

To fully release the pent-up feelings, the grandmother has been attending the literacy class held by Nam-gu Office since 2015, and her passion for learning continues to this year.

Thanks to her relentless effort toward lifelong learning, grandmother Park won the grand prize at this year’s literacy class writing contest by submitting a handwritten copy of Sister Lee Hae-in’s poem “In the Flower Garden.”

She said, “I lived very hard when I was young, so I couldn’t learn. My children all know this, and I hope this will be used for students who, like me, couldn’t learn. I am so happy to be able to write like this.”

Local residents also contributed to nurturing local talent as the year-end approached.

Residents of Korean Adelium 1st Complex in Jinwol-dong held an Ana-bada market and a drawing and slogan contest for children last month to promote communication among neighbors and resource recycling, then donated 500,000 won of the proceeds to the Nam-gu Scholarship Foundation.

Also, the Baegun 2-dong Residents’ Autonomous Committee received donated items and held the “Baegun 2-dong Happiness Sharing Bazaar” at Pureungil Park on December 4, delivering 500,000 won in sales proceeds to Nam-gu Office.

A Nam-gu official said, “We express our gratitude to everyone who sent scholarships for nurturing talent,” adding, “The scholarship funds collected bit by bit will become a precious catalyst for the development of the local community.”

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