Incheon's low-income 'jjokbang' residents give back

Kim Jeong-nam, left, and Kim Eun-im smile at Kim Jeong-nam’s home in Bukseong-dong 1-ga, Jung District, Incheon, May 18. Korea Times photo by Lee Hwan-jik

“What bonus? I would rather spend less and feel good. Isn’t it better to live while helping one another?”

Kim Jeong-nam, 89, is one of three residents of a jjokbang-chon — an enclave of cramped, single-room dwellings — in Bukseong-dong 1-ga in western Incheon, who together have spent about 50 years giving to others. She and her neighbors Kim Eun-im, 83, and Yoon Jeong-sim, 60, collect coins and small bills little by little each year and donate them to neighbors they say are in greater need. While the amounts are small compared with those of major donors, they take pride in a record of giving that has lasted for years.

The shantytown formed after the Korean War, as people from across the country came to Incheon looking for work. In Bukseong-dong, low two-story houses stand pressed together, their thin walls nearly touching. More than 20 households once lived there. Now 14 remain, most of them low-income residents receiving basic livelihood benefits. On May 18, roses, lilies and carnations were in full bloom at Kim Jeong-nam’s house, where the residents gathered to talk about why they help others despite their own hardship.

Kim Jeong-nam, originally from Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, settled in the neighborhood more than 50 years ago, when fishing boats still came and went nearby. She joined the donation effort about 10 years ago after a neighbor encouraged her.

“The jjokbang counseling center gives me kerosene and briquettes in winter, and my daughters buy me flowers,” she said. “I have everything I need. I cannot help much, but I just want to help as much as I can.”

Kim Jeong-nam, left, and Kim Eun-im smile in front of Kim Jeong-nam’s home in Bukseong-dong 1-ga, Jung District, Incheon, May 18. Korea Times photo by Lee Hwan-jik

Yoon, the youngest donor among the three, moved to the village in 2002. She has been donating since her son, now in his 20s, was a preschooler.

“I saved one coin and one bill at a time instead of spending them,” she said. “There are so many people worse off than us. People cannot live alone. We share even small amounts so people in need can use it, and we live by helping one another. We also receive a lot of help.”

Kim Eun-im, a fourth-generation Incheon native, said giving is a matter of returning what one has received.

“There is nothing free in the world,” she said. “If you have received something, you should give something.”

She recalled former President Syngman Rhee saying that even 10 won (less than 1 cent) from each person could become a large sum and help save someone.

“These days, people say even those asking for money do not accept coins, but if you collect 10-won coins, they can still be used to help others,” she said.

Small donations grow into 30 million won

The movement began in 2008 with a suggestion from a resident of Gwaengiburi Village, a jjokbang area in Incheon’s Manseok-dong. The village, now home to about 70 households, was the setting of Kim Jung-mi’s novel “The Children of Gwaengiburimal.” Its roots go back to workers’ lodgings for factories built on reclaimed land off Manseok-dong in the 1930s. During the 1950-53 Korean War, it became a settlement for refugees.

Lee Jun-mo, board chairman of a charity called Incheon Naeil-eul Yeoneun Jip and pastor of Incheon Haein Church, said the campaign began when a Gwaengiburi Village resident objected to only receiving care.

“A resident said, ‘I feel guilty that we only ever receive help. How can we only receive? Let us help neighbors who are poorer than we are,’” Lee said. “That was how it started, and this is already the 18th year.”

Kwon Young-ja, fourth from left, representative of residents of Gwaengiburi Village in Dong District, Incheon; Lee Dong-seung, fifth from left, representative of guests of a soup kitchen; and Lee Jun-mo, third from left, board chairman of Incheon Naeil-eul Yeoneun Jip; pose after delivering donations to the Community Chest of Korea in Jung District, Seoul, Jan. 27. Courtesy of Community Chest of Korea

The fundraising that began in Gwaengiburi Village spread to residents of jjokbang areas in Bukseong-dong 1-ga, Manseok-dong and Hyoseong-dong in Incheon. Guests of a soup kitchen run by Incheon Naeil-eul Yeoneun Jip and residents of homeless shelters also joined. At year-end, the Incheon Jjokbang Counseling Center and related groups collect donations from residents. Some residents also take part in charity bazaars and other sharing events.

“At year’s end, residents bring out piles of money they had tucked away, and we tease one another by saying we are rich,” Yoon said.

In the first year, residents collected about 700,000 won ($458). By the end of last year, the cumulative amount had reached 30.2 million won. Last year alone, they raised a record 2.9 million won.

Behind the money are stories of work and restraint. Residents pushed handcarts and strollers through the streets to collect wastepaper, soju bottles and scrap metal, then donated the proceeds. Older residents or those with physical difficulties saved part of their basic livelihood benefits. Others assembled pens or folded shopping bags at a self-support workshop, putting aside small amounts from each task. Some donated coins they had saved for years from the few hundred won left after buying side dishes. One resident in the past brought in a large liquefied petroleum gas cylinder cut in half and filled with coins.

Um Gyeong-a, head of the Incheon Jjokbang Counseling Center, said about 100 people joined the fundraising last year.

“Some elderly people donate money they earned not only through self-support work at the workshop, but also through paid work through a government program for older adults,” she said.

Lee said the campaign has endured because residents take pride in being people who can help others.

“I think the pride of being able to live as someone who helps another person is the force that has kept this sharing going for 18 years,” the pastor said.

Jjokbang donations return to jjokbang-chon

The money collected in jjokbang-chon goes back to jjokbang-chon. Incheon Naeil-eul Yeoneun Jip delivers the residents’ donations early each year to the Community Chest of Korea. Residents attend the donation ceremony. They say that even as they give, they also receive. The joy of sharing, they say, gives them courage to live.

Kwon Young-ja, second from left, representative of residents of Gwaengiburi Village in Dong District, Incheon, and Lee Dong-seung, fourth from left, representative of guests of a soup kitchen, deliver donations to the Community Chest of Korea in Jung District, Seoul, Jan. 27. Courtesy of Community Chest of Korea

At a ceremony in January, Kwon Young-ja, 65, who represents Manseok-dong jjokbang residents, said she had joined the effort from its first year.

“It is a small amount of money, but I joined from the first year with the hope that it would help someone who truly needs it,” she said. “After taking part every year, my heart swells when the year-end approaches because I think I can help neighbors in need.”

Kwon said some residents donated money they had collected by picking up wastepaper for a year despite poor health.

“Preparing the fundraising itself is a great joy,” she said.

Lee Dong-seung, 84, who represents guests of a soup kitchen, said he felt rewarded that their small donations were valued and passed to people in greater need.

“Saving money feels better and makes me happier than spending it,” he said.

Small donations, larger message

The donations continue, residents said, because there are always people in need. Yoon said about 90 percent of residents in the neighborhood receive basic livelihood benefits, and many are too old or sick to work and help others in more conventional ways.

“I think it is fortunate that we can still help neighbors in greater difficulty by saving and sharing what we have,” she said.

Kim Eun-im said the number of jjokbang residents is shrinking and some people find it hard to donate when they struggle to make ends meet. Still, she said, the amount matters less than the way it is given.

“What matters is not how much one can give, but giving as much as one can, without showing off and without seeking recognition,” she said. Kim Jeong-nam put it more simply. “If you become greedy, there is no end,” she said. “But if you let go of greed and look at neighbors who live and laugh together, there is always something to share.”

A jjokbang-chon in Bukseong-dong 1-ga, Jung District, Incheon, May 18 / Korea Times photo by Lee Hwan-jik

Lee said the donations also carry a message for a society debating the redistribution of excess profits, especially as workers at major companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix receive bonuses worth hundreds of millions of won and many investors profit from a historic stock market boom.

“In a reality where many people earn hundreds of millions of won in bonuses at large companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, and from a record stock market boom where many enjoy excess profits, donations by people in poverty shine even more,” Lee said. “I think looking back at neighbors in difficulty and wanting to share what one has, regardless of the amount, is the true value of redistribution.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.