Korean celebrities donate cash to support war-torn Ukraine
Members of K-pop act U-KISS pose with Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko, second from right, after donating 10 million won to help the war-torn East European country. Courtesy of Tango Music
By Dong Sun-hwa
By Dong Sun-hwa
More Korean celebrities are joining the donation spree to support Ukraine as Russia's invasion continues.
Soohyun, Hoon and Kiseop of K-pop act U-Kiss donated 10 million won ($8,200) to the Ukrainian Embassy in Seoul, Thursday, in a bid to help Ukrainian children and refugees who have been hit hard by the ongoing war.
“We want to give a helping hand to people in Ukraine,” U-KISS said. “We hope the war comes to an end as soon as possible so that people can have peace again.”
Ukrainian Ambassador to Korea Dmytro Ponomarenko said, “I happened to meet U-KISS when I was thinking about running a project that involves K-pop artists and Ukrainian kids. So I was so glad to see the group.”
On Thursday, singer-actor Yang Dong-geun also handed 10 million won to the embassy.
“It was shocking to see the news about a six-year-old Ukrainian girl, who was killed in Russian gunfire,” Yang said. “The news truly broke my heart … I want to send love and support to the victims and their families in Ukraine.”
Narsha of K-pop act Brown Eyed Girls donated 10 million to the Korean Red Cross.
“I decided to make a donation to help Ukrainian people and children, who suddenly lost their homes,” she said.
Actress Lee Young-ae also made headlines for contributing 100 million won ($83,000), saying, “I am a family member of a war veteran, so I can sympathize with the horrors of war more than anybody else.”
According to the Embassy of Ukraine in Korea, it has received more than 2.3 billion won in donations as of Friday morning.