Actress Shin Min-a's donations, sustained for more than 15 years, are drawing renewed attention. Shin has supported vulnerable groups since 2009, and her cumulative giving disclosed so far is reported to exceed 4 billion won (about $2.9 million).
On the 1st, a post titled "3.7 Billion Won That Quietly Left Shin Min-a's Bank Account Over 15 Years" spread across online communities and social media. It said Shin had supported burn patients and children from low-income households for years without revealing her name.
The post also carried an account from a foundation official who said they had watched Shin's donations. The official said large sums had been deposited steadily since 2009 and that the money was at first assumed to have been sent by mistake, before the donor was later identified as Shin. The post said Shin had asked that her donations not be made public and that the money be used for burn patients' treatment costs and study rooms for children from low-income households.
It has not been confirmed, however, which organization the foundation official cited in the widely shared post belongs to, or where the remarks first appeared.
That Shin has donated consistently since 2009 has been reported several times. She has supported children from low-income households, older adults living alone and North Korean defectors, and has given money after national disasters.
She has focused in particular on burn patients. After learning of cases involving burn patients, who draw relatively little public attention and face high treatment costs, she began covering treatment expenses in 2015 through the Hallym Burn Foundation and other organizations. More than 200 burn patients have received help so far. She has also donated annually to Asan Medical Center and other hospitals.
Her giving continued on December 20 last year, the day she married actor Kim Woo-bin. Shin and Kim delivered a combined 300 million won to the Hallym Burn Foundation, Asan Medical Center, Good Friends and other organizations.
Shin has also spoken about why she keeps donating. In an interview in June for the film "Pupils," she said, "My feeling is that I hope to help places that aid does not reach in the current situation," adding that she hoped her intentions would reach people in need.
She said she had once been cautious about publicizing good deeds but had changed her mind. After hearing that giving by influential people can lead others to take part, she said, her thinking about disclosing her donations shifted. "My hope is that even one person will be moved to do good," she said.
The donations that began in 2009 have now run well past 15 years. The online account of 3.7 billion won given anonymously over 15 years drew wide attention, but including donations disclosed since then, Shin's cumulative giving is reported to exceed 4 billion won.
Shin will next appear as the lead character Navier in the Disney+ original series "Remarried Empress," set for release on November 4.
