CELEBRITIES
BTS’ Jungkook donates $750,000 to children’s hospital in Seoul
Jungkook donated the money to Seoul National University Hospital.
BTS member Jungkook has made a considerable donation of ₩100 billion to the Seoul National University Children’s Hospital, roughly $750,000, on Tuesday, April 18.
The hospital said that Jungkook’s donation will be used to help children from low-income families, and also contribute to the hospital’s Integrated Care Center project, which is set to become Korea’s first independent children’s short-term care facility.
“I hope that it will be of some help to children who are suffering, and I will support them so that they can smile healthily,” Jungkook said in a statement.
BTS’s history with charities
BTS and its members are no strangers to giving back to causes important to them. Last month, Suga donated ₩100 million to victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In 2021, he donated the same amount to the children’s cancer department of Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital.
That same year, J-Hope donated ₩150million to ChildFund Korea, which supports children with vision and hearing disabilities.
In 2020, the group and its label, Big Hit Entertainment (which has since become HYBE), donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter.
“We are moved by the generosity of BTS and allies all over the world who stand in solidarity in the fight for Black lives,” the organization said at the time.
Shortly afterward, the group’s official Twitter account released a statement in both Korean and English that said: “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together. #BlackLivesMatter.”
Also in 2020, the group donated custom-made microphones that were signed by the members to the Grammy Week auction with MusiCares, which sold for $83,200. MusiCares offers support to “humans behind music because music gives so much to the world.”
Then, in 2021, BTS donated seven outfits from the ‘Life Goes On’ music video to the Grammy Week auction, this time in partnership with Charitybuzz. The proceeds from the auction went towards the Grammy Museum’s music education programs. The outfits sold for an undisclosed amount.