Orchard Owner Who Made Side Dishes for Elderly Living Alone... Sharing New Life Even at the End
by Seo Jiyeong
Published 27 Feb.2025 10:52(KST)
Kwon Tae-sook Donates Organs at Seoul National University Hospital
"A warm-hearted person who loved sharing fruits with neighbors
and volunteered to make side dishes for elderly living alone"
"A person who could not turn away from lonely elderly living alone and even made side dishes for them. A person who always shared the fruits she carefully grew with a smiling face."
A woman in her 60s who ran an orchard and practiced sharing and volunteering by making side dishes for elderly living alone saved four lives through brain-dead organ donation and passed away.
On the 27th, the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency announced that Kwon Tae-sook (65) donated both kidneys, liver, and lungs at Seoul National University Hospital on the 26th of last month. According to the donation agency, Kwon collapsed at her home in the early morning of the 21st of last month and was transported to the hospital but did not regain consciousness and fell into a brain-dead state.
It is said that Kwon knew about her child's organ donation registration application during her lifetime and said, "Well done. I want to do such a good deed too." Her family remembered this and decided to donate. Also, they decided to donate with the hope that if a part of her body could continue life inside another person, it would bring comfort in living together.
Having operated an orchard in Seosan, Chungnam for over 30 years, she liked sharing fruits with those around her, cared well for her neighbors, and participated in church volunteer work making side dishes for elderly living alone. People around her recalled that she always worked with a smile and was someone who shared even small things.
Kwon’s son, Lee Won-hee, said, "Looking back, I deeply regret not expressing love more often while she was alive. I am sorry for not saying 'I love you' and hugging her more frequently when she was alive," and added, "I miss those times. Mom, I love you very much," delivering his final farewell.
Lee Sam-yeol, director of the Korea Organ and Tissue Donation Agency, said, "We express our gratitude to the donor Kwon Tae-sook, who was a warm neighbor who loved her neighbors and a caring mother who loved her family, and to the bereaved family who shared the noble meaning of life-sharing." He added, "We believe the beautiful image of the donor who saved other lives at the end of her life will warmly and brightly illuminate society."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.