A 40-Year Helping Hand to Navy Personnel Comes to an End

800 Million KRW Donated by Late Kim Hee-nam
Scholarships Provided to Soldiers from Low-Income Families
Last Scholarship This Chuseok Due to Fund Depletion

The 'Beautiful Journey,' which began 40 years ago with a fund donated by a woman to the Naval Operations Command, came to an end this Chuseok.

The story goes like this. In May 1983, the late Kim Hee-nam handed over 8 million won in savings to the Navy with the words, "Please feed a bowl of dried radish soup to the Navy soldiers who are like my sons." Considering that a bowl of jajangmyeon cost about 200 won in the early 1980s, 8 million won was a substantial amount at the time. Calculated by the price of jajangmyeon, it was enough to feed 16,000 people.

On the 26th of last month, personnel from the Naval Operations Command visited the home of the late Mrs. Kim Hee-nam's descendants to present a plaque of appreciation. (Left: Mr. Kim Hyung-gon, descendant of the late Mrs. Kim Hee-nam; Right: Colonel Kim Chang-ho, Chief of Personnel Staff, Naval Operations Command)

Mrs. Kim was an ordinary citizen who made a living selling blankets at Jinhae Market. The reason she donated a scholarship fund to the Navy was her gratitude and remorse toward the Navy soldiers she often saw going to and from the market. Every time she saw the soldiers, Mrs. Kim felt sorry that her only son, the third generation, could not fulfill his military duty, so she delivered the 8 million won she had saved to a nearby Navy unit.

The Naval Operations Command established the 'Kim Hee-nam Fund' named after the donating woman and began providing scholarships to soldiers from financially disadvantaged families. This was the beginning of the beautiful journey between the Navy and Mrs. Kim Hee-nam.

In June of the same year Mrs. Kim donated the scholarship, the Naval Operations Command enacted regulations for fund management and has been providing scholarships to soldiers in need ever since. The Kim Hee-nam Fund started with 8 million won but has been sustained by adding portions of the consolation and encouragement money received by the unit each year. Over 40 years, 35 soldiers were selected every Lunar New Year and Chuseok, and the number of scholarship recipients has now exceeded 2,800.

However, the Kim Hee-nam Fund was completely exhausted after the scholarship distribution this Chuseok, marking the end of the 40-year journey between the Navy and Mrs. Kim.

Before the final scholarship distribution, the Naval Operations Command visited the home of Mrs. Kim’s grandson in Jinhae-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, and presented a plaque of appreciation.

Her grandson, Kim Hyung-gon, recalled, "I remember picking up cigarette butts on my way home from school and bringing them to my grandmother," and added, "She was someone who even saved spare change, yet she donated a large sum to the Navy, showing her special love for the Navy soldiers." He continued, "I’m really glad that my grandmother’s love was well conveyed to the soldiers through the fund," and said, "I will definitely share this joyful news with her."

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