Five-member girl group KARA member Gu Hara has become the latest celebrity to join an already long list of singers and actors in Korea who have extended a helping hand to quake-stricken Japan.
According to an official at her agency DSP Media on Wednesday, Gu, 20, donated 100 million won, close to 90,000 U.S. dollars, to the Community Chest of Korea which is running a month-long charity starting early last week to help relief and rescue efforts in Japan.
Her group KARA had already promised to commit the entire sum of the profits they make from their upcoming third Japanese single "Jet Coaster Love" but Gu decided to go forth with making a contribution first after seeing the release date of the record pushed back due to the earthquake, the official explained.
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami that followed has forced record labels to postpone album releases and broadcasters to cancel music shows, delaying the promotional activities many K-pop artists including BEAST, INFINITE and 2NE1, were set to carry out in Japan.
Numerous idol groups have joined in the cause however, including Big Bang and 2NE1 through representation of YG Entertainment, 2PM, Wonder Girls and miss A through JYP Entertainment, and TVXQ, Super Junior and Girls' Generation through SM Entertainment, as well as nine-member boy band ZE:A and singing trio JYJ.
A string of high-profile actors have made donations as well, namely actors Won Bin, Jang Dong-gun, Lee Byung-hun, Jang Keun-suk, Ryu Si-won, Song Seung-heon and actress Choi Ji-woo.
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