'100 Cups of Coffee for Firefighters with Consumption Coupon'... Donation Relay Follows

A Young Man and a Cafe Owner Donate Coffee
Ediya Headquarters Joins, Providing 1 Million Won Each to the Young Man and the Branch
Further Donation Planned for Gapyeong Fire Station

A heartwarming story has emerged about a young man whose gesture of delivering around 100 cups of coffee to firefighters using a livelihood recovery consumption coupon sparked a relay of further donations.

Mr. Ohkyun Yoo, who used the livelihood recovery consumption coupon to deliver coffee to firefighters at Chuncheon Fire Station. Screenshot from Ediya Coffee X (formerly Twitter)

The story began with Ohkyun Yoo, a 33-year-old resident of Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. According to explanations from Ediya Coffee, Chuncheon Fire Station, and the Gangwon Ilbo on August 7, Yoo visited Chuncheon Fire Station, a nearby 119 Safety Center, and a police substation on July 26, delivering 100 cups of iced Americano. Yoo used the entire 180,000 won from his livelihood recovery consumption coupon to purchase the coffee.

In an interview with the Gangwon Ilbo published on August 6, Yoo said, "I didn't plan from the beginning to use the livelihood support funds this way. I was going to spend it on myself," adding, "After watching a variety show featuring Jaeseok Yoo and Dongwook Lee, I wanted to treat the firefighters working hard in the heat to some coffee."

However, 180,000 won was not enough to provide coffee to all the firefighters in Chuncheon. Kim Nakyung, the owner of the Ediya Coffee Gangwondo Provincial Office branch, decided to join Yoo's effort. Kim, who was already acquainted with Yoo, sponsored about 140,000 won worth of coffee to cover the shortfall in the total payment of 320,000 won. When they ran out of ice while making 100 cups of coffee at once, the nearby Ediya Coffee Chuncheon High-Tech Tower branch provided additional ice, and others also pitched in to help.

As news spread that coffee had been delivered to the firefighters through the participation of many people, Ediya Coffee headquarters also joined the donation. On July 30, Ediya Coffee headquarters announced on X (formerly Twitter), "Although it cannot compare, we wanted to express our gratitude, so we decided to provide Mr. Ohkyun Yoo with a 1,000,000 won Ediya gift card and offer support worth 1,000,000 won to the Gangwondo Provincial Office branch," adding, "Both of them initially declined to accept, but we persistently persuaded them to expand the positive impact."

The 1,000,000 won gift card provided by Ediya headquarters to Yoo has led to yet another donation. In his interview with the Gangwon Ilbo, Yoo said, "1,000,000 won is not a small amount. To be honest, I felt some pressure," adding, "Since there was a recent unfortunate incident in Gapyeong, I asked for it to be used for those working hard there, and Ediya Coffee is currently contacting Gapyeong Fire Station."

Chuncheon Fire Station presented a letter of appreciation to Kim Nakyung, the owner of Ediya Coffee Gangwondo Office Branch, on the 4th. Photo captured from Chuncheon Fire Station's Facebook page.

Additionally, the 1,000,000 won support provided to the Ediya Coffee Gangwondo Provincial Office branch is also expected to be shared with customers. Ediya Coffee explained, "The owner preferred to share the support with customers rather than keep it for herself, so we decided to provide complimentary snack gifts to visitors."

Chuncheon Fire Station presented letters of appreciation to Yoo and Kim on August 2 and 4, respectively. Posting a photo on Facebook expressing their gratitude, Chuncheon Fire Station stated, "Protecting the safety of citizens is our mission, but each time we receive such heartfelt support, our sense of responsibility and pride grows even stronger," adding, "We will continue to do our best to earn even greater trust by working together with citizens with open hearts."