NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 21: K-pop boy band BTS visit the SiriusXM Studios on February 21, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
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K-drama and K-pop stars who are rich, famous, talented and extremely generous

As we move into the last months of the year and the season of giving, it’s time to take stock and think about what we can do to help the less fortunate. You don’t have to be as wealthy as a famous Korean celebrity to donate to those in need, though superstars like IU, BTS and Shin Min-a serve as inspirational figures when it comes to being generous. Yes, they earn bucketloads of cash, but they also give away millions in Korean won to the poor and disadvantaged. Some of these stars may have come from humble backgrounds and know what it’s like to live in poverty. Others just like to spread their good fortune around, instead of spending all their moolah on themselves and expensive houses, cars and jewellery. Here are some big-hearted celebs and their contributions to charity.

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1. IU

The multi-talented IU, born Lee Ji-eun, doesn’t just have an angelic voice, she’s an actual angel. The 28-year-old K-pop and K-drama superstar is well-known for her philanthropy, and besides being one of Korean entertainment’s top earners, worth some US$45 million, she’s also one of the most generous, giving yearly to charitable organisations and those in need. The Hotel del Luna actress recently celebrated 13 years in showbiz with a huge donation, rallying brands she works with to donate 850 million won (US$719,120) in first aid kits, sneakers, pizzas and more to selected charities, shelters and health centres. She herself donated about US$370,000. The star also donated 500 million won (US$422,500) to charity on her birthday in May, and gave home appliances such as fridges and washing machines to needy single mothers.

She’s apparently amassed more than 1.5 billion won (US$1.27 million) in donations since 2011, and was feted as one of Forbes Asia's Heroes of Philanthropy in 2019, the youngest to make the list. She contributed to South Korea’s Covid-19 efforts by donating 260 million won (US$220,000) for masks and medical supplies to low-income families. She also helped the victims of the Gangwon Province forest fire that left nearly 4,200 people homeless, and held a series of concerts to benefit the victims of the Sewol ferry tragedy, which claimed more than 300 lives, most of them high school students. 100 per cent of the proceeds from the concerts, which made around 250 million won (US$211,000), were donated to the victims. She’s also given to the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation numerous times to help disadvantaged children, as well as to the Seoul Association of the Deaf and senior citizens’ charities.

Read more: K-Pop Star IU is Celebrating 13 Years in Show Business With a Huge Donation

2. BTS’ Jin

Jin became a member of Unicef’s Honors Club (for those who have donated at least 100 million won, which is approximately US$84,340) in 2019, for his donations to improve the lives of children through funding, special programming and mentorship. He’s been a regular donor since 2018. As a group, BTS and their management company also famously donated US$1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020. Even more amazing? Their generosity was matched by their fans. BTS ARMY, their fan club, set a call to #MatchAMillion, and they did it, donating more than an additional $1 million to the cause.

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3. BTS’ J-Hope

BTS’s wealthiest member J-Hope—he’s reportedly worth US$26 million, while the other BTS members are worth US$20 to US$25 million—gives hope to the less fortunate, indeed. For South Korea’s Children’s Day this year, he donated 100 million won to child victims of violence in Africa. He’s reportedly given over 700 million won over the last three years to charity. A cause close to his heart is education, and the singer-rapper donated 100 million won to Childfund Korea’s Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education in 2019, with the money going to his alma mater, Choontae Academy, as well as to a girls’ high school to support scholarships. Like many stars, he regularly donates on his birthday to charity organisations.

4. BTS’ Jimin

BTS’s honey-voiced singer Jimin also often supports education with donations. In 2019, he donated 100 million won to the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education, to help with lunch money and welfare for students from low-income families. The funds went to various schools, including his own alma mater, Busan High School of Arts. The money helped pay for desks and chairs for its students.

5. BTS’ Suga, RM, V and Jungkook

No less charitable are the other members of BTS. In 2018, for his 25th birthday, Suga donated about US$19,000 worth of hanwoo beef to 39 children’s foster homes in his hometown of Daegu, under the name ARMY, fulfilling a promise he made in 2014 to donate food to fans when he became successful. In 2019, he donated $90,000 to the Korea Pediatric Cancer Association and 329 dolls he designed, also under the name ARMY. 

Meanwhile, RM also donates to various charity organisations, such as in 2019, when he gave US$84,000 to the Seoul Samsung School, also known as Samsung Deaf School, to provide music education to deaf students.

As a group, BTS has always played a philanthropic tune. Their Love Myself campaign, started in 2017, is a collab between the group, their management company and the Korean Committee for Unicef, with money raised used to support youth victims of school, domestic and sexual violence. As of August 2020, the campaign has raised almost US$2.2 million, with funds coming from BTS themselves, album sales, campaign merchandise and donations worldwide. The group has also aided victims of disasters, such as the Sewol Ferry disaster in 2014, where the group, along with their management company, secretly donated 100 million won. Their fans are also a generous lot, regularly donating to charitable causes on individual group members’ birthdays.

Read more: 10 Korean Stars Who Went From Rags To Riches, Including BTS’ V, Park Bo-Gum and IU

6. Bae Suzy

The Start-Up actress has made it a habit to donate to the Life Share Association, an organ donation campaign group, every year on her birthday. For her 25th birthday, she donated 100 million won to the organisation, to help kids suffering from serious illnesses such as pediatric cancer and leukemia. She has also donated generously to support single mothers, families in need and victims of disasters such as the Gangwon Province wildfire in 2019.

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7. Kim Soo-hyun

As one of the highest-paid K-drama actors, Kim Soo-hyun gives back in equal measure. In 2014, he donated 300 million won (US$253,000) to aid in the recovery and psychological treatment of the students of Danwon High School, where most of the victims of the Sewol Ferry tragedy were from, and to build a memorial for the victims. He also pledged 203 million won at a Gucci charity event in China, joined a fundraising event to protect children’s rights and donated 100 million won to aid South Korea's Covid-19 efforts and support low-income families struggling due to the pandemic.

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8. Shin Min-a

The actress, most recently seen flashing her dimples at Kim Seon-ho in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, truly has a heart of gold. In 2016, it was revealed that she had been secretly donating huge amounts to various charities for over 10 years, in support of education and healthcare for disadvantaged children, heating costs for elderly people living alone, and support for North Korean refugee women and children. At the time, her total donations had reached a whopping 1.4 billion won (US$1.18 million). She’s also been making yearly donations of 100 million won since 2015 to the Hallym Burn Foundation, and is said to have helped over a hundred burn victims with treatments and surgeries. She decided to donate to patients with burn injuries when she found out they get fewer donations and lesser attention than other groups in need. The big-hearted star has also paid for the expenses of kids from countries such as Mongolia and Cambodia seeking medical treatment in Korea and has helped build a school in Nepal for a poor neighbourhood whose school building had collapsed. Truly an angel.

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