Grandmother Hong Gyehyang, Who Donated 1.2 Billion Won Raised from Street Vending and Cleaning Work, Passes Away

2014 4-Story House Donation Agreement
Seongnam City and Related Agencies See Off on Final Journey

Hong Gye-hyang (90), a grandmother who donated her entire fortune earned from street vending and collecting waste paper, has passed away.

Grandmother Hong Gye-hyang (90), who was registered as the "First Happy Legacy Donor in Seongnam City" by the Gyeonggi Social Welfare Community Chest, pictured alive in 2014. [Image source=Seongnam City]

Seongnam City announced on the 22nd the passing of Grandma Hong, who was registered as the first donor of the Gyeonggi Social Welfare Community Chest's 'Seongnam City Happy Legacy.' According to the city, Grandma Hong passed away on the 19th due to illness. With no relatives, the city organized the funeral and saw her off on her final journey. The city stated, "The four-story multi-family house where she lived (donated in 2014, currently valued at about 1.2 billion KRW) will be used carefully for low-income residents in the area, in accordance with her wishes expressed during her lifetime."

Born in 1934 in Busan, Grandma Hong moved to Seoul after marrying at the age of 21. She struggled to make a living by selling seaweed and laver at street stalls and collecting waste paper. In 1983, at the age of 49, she settled in Seongnam. Even after that, she worked various jobs such as subway cleaning and factory labor to earn money. With the money she saved, Grandma Hong purchased a four-story house in Seongnam-dong, Jungwon-gu, Seongnam City, where she lived from 2002 until her passing.

Having always intended to donate her assets to society, after her daughter passed away from illness in 2010 and her husband, who suffered from dementia, died in December 2013, she began the process of donating her fortune. In June 2014, she donated her entire estate to the Gyeonggi Social Welfare Community Chest to be used as a welfare fund for low-income residents of Seongnam City after her death. Thus, Grandma Hong became the first registered donor of the 'Happy Legacy Donation' in Seongnam City.

She continued to volunteer steadily in the local community, saying "Seongnam is my second hometown," and in 2006, she also pledged to donate her organs after death at Seoul National University Hospital, wanting to share everything she had.

Shin Sang-jin, Mayor of Seongnam, personally visited the funeral hall to pay his respects. Mayor Shin said, "I visited Grandma two months ago and wished her a speedy recovery, so this is very sad. We will use the donated legacy carefully as per her wishes." Grandma Hong will be cremated and her ashes will be enshrined at the Seongnam City Memorial Hall.