Donation by Cheoin-gu resident draws attention

[Provided by Yongin Special City]
[Provided by Yongin Special City]

An elderly woman in her 80s who raised four children while working in the coal mines of Taebaek walked into a city hall, handed over a paper bag containing 21.95 million won ($16,400) in cash, and left without a word.

Tucked among the bundles of bills was a handwritten letter recounting a life of hardship — her husband's blackened face after each shift underground, and the lung disease he eventually contracted from years in the mines.

According to Yongin Special City in Gyeonggi Province, the woman, identified only as A, visited city hall on Wednesday despite having difficulty moving around and donated 21.95 million won to a neighbor-assistance fund.

Her letter opened with a gentle greeting: "The weather is lovely today. This old woman who knows so little will try to put a few words down."

She went on to describe her husband's work in the mines. "In Taebaek there is a coal-mining village — a place where they dig for coal. My husband, who had no money, worked there. We worked just to get by. When you go in and come back out, your face turns black."

She then wrote of the occupational disease that haunts miners. "In the coal mines there is a disease called silicosis. You carry it for the rest of your life. It doesn't spread to others. But we had no money, so we had to work in a place like that. We had to eat to live."

"My husband got that disease," she wrote. She closed the letter by saying: "We have three sons and a daughter. The children are getting by well enough, so I want to give. I will stop here."

Yongin city officials later visited A at her home to express their gratitude and presented her with the city's "Shy Sharing Badge," an award given to anonymous donors.

In keeping with her wishes, the city plans to use the donation to support elderly people living alone and children in households in need.


jshan@heraldcorp.com