By Cho Jae-hyon
Staff Reporter

The saying "let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth," originating from the Bible, means you should not give yourself credit for providing charity to others. The wisdom aptly fits a man who has made donations for 10 years without revealing his identity in the southwestern city of Jeonju.

The donor, nicknamed the "faceless angel," called Nosong Residential Center in Jeonju at 11:55 a.m., Monday, saying, "There is a paper box behind a vending machine at a laundry shop behind the residential center."

At the long-awaited angel's voice, Han Il-soo, the chief of the residential center, and three other workers rushed to the location and found a box of copy papers.

There were bundles of 50,000 and 10,000 won bills as well as two piggy banks full of coins. The total amount was 80.27 million won ($67,000), which is close to the 81.1 million won he donated in similar ways over the past nine years since 2000.

In the box was a typed letter. It reads: "Like all other mothers in the country, my mother lived a thrifty life and saved this money. I hope this money will be spent for the poor neighbors in respect of my mother's will."

The letter had a postscript: "Mother! Who is in heaven, I respect you and love you!"

Han said the donor must have added the assets he inherited from his mother to this year's donation. "The amount of donated money this year is far larger than in previous years. We assume that the donor's mother passed away as indicated in the letter," Han told The Korea Times.

He said the center has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the angel since early last week as he usually calls the center several days before Christmas.

The center believes the donor is a man as the caller has been male since 2002, though the ages of the callers sound different.

In 2000, the money was delivered by an elementary school student and in 2001 by a man in his 20s. Since 2002, the donor has made donations by calling the center to inform them where he has put the money.

"The voices have not been the same. Sometime it was thought to be a man in his 60s and other times it sounds like someone between 30 and 50," another center official said.

Still, Han and other officials believe the donor is the same man and he has some link to Nosong-dong.

"We have been waiting for the call for days and are so relieved that he made it," Han said. "I believe he has close links to our village. He could be from this town or might be a resident."

The money has been deposited with the account of the charity organization Community Chest of Korea and will be spent to help poor residents in the village with the population of 16,900.

"In Nosong-dong, there are 631 poor households receiving government subsidies and 218 seniors living alone," the center chief said. "As he donated a large amount of money, more households will be able to receive aid."

Han said his village has become famous thanks to the faceless angel. "I hope his covert charity will become a small impetus for people to care for their needy neighbors."

Jeonju City plans to erect a stone monument in a small garden behind the center where the donor has put the money. The writing on it will read: "Like a candle in the darkness, you are a man who makes the world beautiful and bright."

chojh@koreatimes.co.kr