Avg. Korean Donated W197,000 Last Year

The average Korean last year donated 197,000 won (143 U.S. dollars) to charity up 22.3 percent in won from 161,000 won (157.47 dollars) in 2005, a domestic charity group said yesterday.

The Community Chest of Korea surveyed 1,001 adults nationwide, and found that 54 percent said they made at least one donation last year.

The donors tended to be people in their 40s (61.5 percent), the self-employed (68.9 percent), and those earning more than 4.01 million won, or 2,980 dollars, (72.8 percent) on average per month.

On why they donated to charity, 49.5 percent said “to help the underprivileged; 32.9 percent “responsibility for the community where people live together”; and 10.8 percent “to seek rewarding tasks on their own.”

Eighty percent said donations by celebrities inspire the general public to donate.

On who should donate more, the respondents picked the general public (48.1 percent); wealthy people (27.2 percent); leaders in politics, business, academia and religion (19.1 percent); and journalists, broadcast specialists and sports stars and entertainers (4.8 percent).

kky@donga.com