Actress Kim Hye-ri praised as past good deeds come to light

She's beautiful inside and out, exclaim internet users

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Actress Kim Hye-ri / Captured image from her Instagram account

Actress Kim Hye-ri, 51, was unwittingly brought back in the spotlight as her past good deeds became known to the public, thanks to a recent news article.

Kim had taken care of a baby girl born out of wedlock for six months in 2014 to help the baby's dad, Kim Ji-whan, fully focus on his day job without worrying about childcare or the safety of his daughter.

Her good deed belatedly made headlines after the father mentioned her support in his recent interview with the Chosun Ilbo newspaper which was published on Saturday. Kim, founder and president of the non-profit group Association of Single Daddies based in Seoul, said he was able to raise his baby girl Sa-rang, thanks to the actress.

He said he made money to feed his baby girl by washing dishes at an eatery near his home while actress Kim took care of his infant daughter from morning till afternoon for six months. He went on to say that the actress' timely childcare support also enabled him to successfully campaign to revise the law to allow unwed fathers to file for birth certificates for their children born out of wedlock. Before the revision, only unwed mothers were eligible for compiling files for their babies' birth certificates.

Under the current law, children without birth certificates are disqualified from various benefits, including healthcare, and they even cannot go to school. Mr. Kim took legal action against the law and the court sided with him. During his 18-month-long legal battle, he lost his job and suffered financial stresses. He was penniless and unable to feed his infant as he found it tough to balance work and childcare.

His difficult situation was introduced in a TV documentary. Moved by his story, actress Kim contacted him directly and suggested she would be willing to take care of the baby girl to help him find work, an offer Mr. Kim accepted instantly.

The recent news article about actress Kim's guardian angel role for the baby girl has gone viral, drawing compliments from some people.

One internet user wrote the actress is beautiful inside and out, calling her an angel. Another wrote actress Kim set an example for givers with her genuine support for another family.

Some left messages on her Instagram account expressing their gratitude for her past good deed.

In a statement released on Sunday, her agency NUNA Company said actress Kim is surprised at people's reactions.

“We knew she took care of the baby girl but didn't make this public because she wanted to keep it quiet. She is embarrassed because her work seven years ago made headlines and drew excessive praise from the public after Mr. Kim's media interview,” the agency said. “We understand as a mother of a daughter, she felt the urge to help the single daddy and his baby girl.”

Actress Kim became the most-searched name on the nation's largest internet portal Naver.

She reportedly sent a KakaoTalk message to Mr. Kim, saying he was the one who did a great job but she accidentally stole the show and she was sorry for that.

Mr. Kim said he decided to reveal the actress' good deed, although she told him not to, because he thought the public should know about it.

Kim debuted as an actress after becoming a runner-up of the 1988 Miss Korea beauty pageant. She appeared in several hit TV series, including “Tears of the Dragon” which aired on KBS 1 from 1996 to 1998 and “Taejo Wang Geon.”