Jeonju's 'Good Samaritan’ returns again

‘A Good Samaritan’ in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province has returned again this year. The person has been delivering warmth to neighbors in need around Christmas every year since 2000.

According to Jeonju City on Tuesday, a phone call came at the Nosong-dong Community Service Center in Wansan-gu around 11:01 a.m. that day. “I put a box under the vehicle of a kindergarten near Seongsan Church,” a middle-aged man with a thick voice said. “Please spend it for those in need.”

Deputy Clerk of Court, Oh Min-hee, who answered the phone, jumped up from her seat When she said “The Good Samaritan did not forget to visit us this year as well,” her colleagues cheered. Ms. Oh and four other employees immediately ran to Seongsan Church and found a box under the kindergarten vehicle.

Employees brought the box to the community center and carefully opened it. Inside the box was a bundle of 50,000 won bills tied with yellow rubber bands, a piggy bank full of coins, and a letter. The cash amount was 76,005,580 won in total, and the letter said, “I hope it will be a little help to Jeonju students and underage breadwinners who are forced to give up their dreams without college tuition. I hope they could use help, and all the things they want to achieve come true. Happy New Year,” was written on it.

In April 2000, the donor left 584,000 won for the first time, saying, “Please use it for neighbors in need.” And since then, he has donated millions of won to tens of millions of won every year, but he is called Jeonju's 'Good Samaritan' because he did not reveal his name or identity at all. In 2019, an accident occurred in which some 60 million won he left near the Nosong-dong community center was stolen, but the angel has continued to do good deeds. With the donation on this day, the cumulative donations until this year amount to 884,733,690 won.

Jeonju City plans to use the donations to provide scholarships for local students and support for underage breadwinners to honor to the wishes of the donor. "Because of the good deeds of a Good Samaritan, Jeonju has been called the 'City of Angels,’ an official from Jeonju City said. “Following in his footsteps, the number of citizens who donate anonymously is steadily increasing."


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