Lee Young-ae (Warner Bros. Korea)
Actress‘s Lee Young-ae’s letter and check of 100 million won sent to Ukraine embassy in South Korea. (Twitter account of Ukraine Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko)
Ordinary Koreans are also joining in on donating to help Ukrainians affected by the invasion. But with news of fake charity websites swindling people’s donations, people were advised to take caution when sharing information while making contributions online.
A user named zXie on the IT information community Giggle Hardware recently posted a screengrab of his donation to the Ukrainian Red Cross, with instructions on how to do it.
“I usually make monthly donations to the Doctors Without Borders, but I felt like I had to donate here. I hope for a miracle,” the user wrote.
Twitter user hoho_beakbal posted a screenshot of the donation page for http://savelife.in.ua/en/donate -- authenticated by Ukraine’s foreign ministry -- along with Korean translations to aid fellow Koreans.
According to the Ukraine.ua, one can also send financial support via donating to the fund of the National Bank of Ukraine. Links to each website are available at the Ukraine.ua, along with account information should one wish to donate.
International organizations, including the UNHCR and the UNICEF, are currently conducting fundraisers for the people of Ukraine, with direct links to the donation page available at their respective websites. UNHCR said its campaign, which started last Friday, has been receiving donations at a pace “far extending those of the past” without revealing the specifics.
Korean charity groups are also rolling up their sleeves to help Ukrainians. The Korean Red Cross on Monday said it is sending CHF 100,000 ($108,766) for the victims of the invasion, and plans to raise an additional 2 billion won in donations. Other groups including World Vision International, Save the Children International and Good Neighbors International are also raising funds for the victims in Ukraine, which are all accessible at online portal Naver’s charity page https://happybean.naver.com.
Some younger people are offering moral support.
Gang Jun-ki, a second year school of Kongju National University High School, started an online campaign by posting a message “We urge the international community. Peace in Ukraine!” and urging his fellow students to follow suit. Nearly a thousand middle and high school students joined in as of Wednesday, according to local media reports.
“It made me proud to find that our society can relate (to this issue) and build on such idea,” Gang was quoted as saying.
By Yoon Min-sik (
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)