"Hunger and Sorrow Understood"... An 80-Year-Old Who Donated All the Rice He Farmed

"Hopefully No Neighbors Go Hungry"

An 80-year-old farmer who spent a poor childhood has moved people by donating all the rice he harvested throughout his life.

According to 'Yonhap News' on the 31st, Choi Byung-yong (83), who lives in Munjang Village, Bibong-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeonbuk, donated 60 bags of 20kg white rice (about 3.5 million KRW) to the Bibong-myeon office the day before, saying, "Please deliver it to neighbors in need." Mr. Choi generously shared all the rice he farmed for a year. It is reported that he has been continuing this good deed for two years already.

Rice donated by farmer Choi Byung-yong. Provided by Wanju-gun

Mr. Choi explained the purpose of his donation, saying, "Farming is not easy at my age, but I put my heart into it hoping that no neighbors would suffer from hunger."

Born and raised in Bibong-myeon, Mr. Choi is said to have had a poor childhood. He said, "Everyone had a hard time back then, but my family especially had nothing to eat. You can't imagine how great that sorrow was."

He added, "There are elderly people who make a living by collecting waste paper, and many people are in more difficult situations than I am. As long as I can work, I want to continue farming and donating rice."

It is also known that he did not want his good deeds to be publicized, saying, "It's not a big deal."

Regarding Mr. Choi's good deed, Shim Mi-jung, head of Bibong-myeon, said, "We are grateful for the warm heart of the elder who practices sharing with neighbors without forgetting the difficult childhood," and emphasized, "We will take better care of the marginalized groups around according to his intention."