88-Year-Old Grandmother Donates 4 Billion Won Worth of Real Estate to Her Hometown National University, Built Over a Lifetime

Mrs. Yoon Geun donates real estate worth 4 billion KRW to Chungnam National University
A lifelong wish fulfilled after 35 years, inspired by the "Gimbap Grandmother"

"I am so happy to finally fulfill a wish I have held in my heart after seeing the Gimbap Grandmother donate her entire fortune to Chungnam National University 35 years ago."

An elderly woman in her 80s, who never had the chance to attend school due to her family circumstances, donated a building worth approximately 4 billion KRW that she had built over her lifetime to the university in her hometown. She expressed her hope that "students in difficult situations can focus solely on their studies."

Yoon Geun, who built 4 billion KRW worth of real estate through lodging businesses, donated it to Chungnam National University. Provided by Chungnam National University

Chungnam National University announced on the 19th that Mrs. Yoon Geun (88), who resides in Busan, donated real estate worth about 4 billion KRW. The property donated by Mrs. Yoon is a six-story lodging building located in Yeongdo-gu, Busan.

In 1990, the late Lee Bok-soon, known as the "Gimbap Grandmother," made headlines by donating real estate worth 5 billion KRW and 10 million KRW in cash to Chungnam National University. Mrs. Yoon’s donation is the second-largest personal donation to the university in 35 years.

Born in Jangpyeong-myeon, Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, Mrs. Yoon’s childhood was not easy. Although she grew up in a harmonious family with her farmer father, mother, and two older sisters, she lost her mother at the age of three and her father at thirteen. Due to financial hardship, she could not even dream of entering elementary school and had to live with other families after her parents passed away.

At 17, she married a husband who worked as a tungsten mine laborer in her hometown, but their situation did not improve. At 19, she moved to Seoul without a plan and worked various hard jobs such as in a pottery factory and as a street vendor, but life in Seoul was tough. Eventually, she returned to her hometown Cheongyang and ran a clothing store at a five-day market, which brought some stability, but she suffered the pain of three miscarriages due to lack of time to care for her health.

She left her husband and resumed street vending and fruit stall work in Seoul, and in her mid-thirties, she settled in Busan. Hearing from neighbors that "Busan has more jobs and is warmer than Seoul, so life might be better," she moved to Busan in 1970 with only 500 KRW. There, she worked any job she could find, including housekeeping and odd jobs at lodging facilities.

With the money she steadily saved, she acquired a two-story lodging called "Dongnam Inn" (now Dongnam Park) near Namhang in Yeongdo, Busan, after ten years. As the lodging business flourished alongside the booming Busan economy and her ingrained diligence, she built a new six-story building on the same site in 1995. This building is the real estate she donated this time.

Yoon Geun, who built 4 billion KRW worth of real estate through lodging businesses, donated it to Chungnam National University. Provided by Chungnam National University

Mrs. Yoon recalled, "I felt as if my life’s hard work in a foreign land was fully rewarded." She added, "Although decades have passed since I lived away from my hometown, I always missed it. Whenever I heard Chungcheong dialect mixed with Gyeongsang dialect, I would follow and ask about my hometown. When the Namhang Bridge was being built in Yeongdo, I gave extra food to workers from Chungcheong who stayed at the inn."

Mrs. Yoon said, "Almost my entire life is contained in Dongnam Inn," and added, "I am so happy to finally fulfill a wish I held in my heart after seeing the Gimbap Grandmother donate her entire fortune to Chungnam National University 35 years ago."

She also expressed, "I never even set foot in elementary school and lived a hard life, but I want to see students at Chungnam National University who are struggling financially focus solely on their studies and become great leaders of the world with the fortune I have accumulated."

Kim Jeong-gyeom, president of Chungnam National University, said, "We sincerely thank Mrs. Yoon for donating real estate that reflects her past and present," and added, "We will honor the donor’s wishes and strive to nurture outstanding talents." The Chungnam National University Development Fund Foundation plans to utilize the donated property in various ways, including as educational facilities and training centers.