The Owner of 'Gwangwoon Bunsik' Who Has Been Kind for 41 Years Becomes a Gwangwoon University Alumnus

Kwangwoon University Honorary Bachelor's Degree Awarded
Meal and Tuition Support Provided to Struggling Students

A shop owner who ran a snack bar in front of a university for 41 years and performed good deeds received an honorary bachelor's degree.

Kwon Soon-dan, former CEO of Kwangwoon Bunsik, is receiving an honorary bachelor's degree. [Image source=Kwangwoon University]

On the 22nd, Kwangwoon University in Nowon-gu, Seoul, announced that it awarded an honorary bachelor's degree to Kwon Soon-dan (74), former CEO of Kwangwoon Bunsik, on the 10th in celebration of its 90th anniversary.

Mr. Kwon first opened a snack bar in front of Kwangwoon University in 1976. He recalled, "In the early days of business, there were no suitable restaurants nearby, so most Kwangwoon University students had no choice but to stop by Kwangwoon Bunsik," adding, "Naturally, I became close to the students like family." Students who confided their worries to Mr. Kwon later became Kwangwoon University professors and continued to visit the snack bar even after getting married and becoming parents. Every time he saw graduates returning to the snack bar, Mr. Kwon thought, 'They have lived well over the years.'

Moreover, Mr. Kwon provided meals to students facing financial difficulties and even readily paid their tuition fees. He said, "There was a student who stopped coming after failing to repay the tuition I lent, but after graduation, he came back and repaid me with an extra 1 million won, which moved me deeply," adding, "Thinking about how hard he must have struggled emotionally to gather the money made my heart ache."

Mr. Kwon closed Kwangwoon Bunsik in 2017 and now operates three restaurants with his son, but many students still visit his shop. The former CEO expressed his joy, saying, "It is a great personal honor to receive an honorary bachelor's degree from Kwangwoon University," and added, "I have now become an alumnus together with my son, who graduated from Kwangwoon University's Department of Chemical Engineering in 2003."