Stars rush to donate money for wildfire victims

This combined photo shows K-pop stars who donated to wildfire relief efforts Clockwise from left with IU Suzy Han Ji-min and Park Bo-young Yonhap — This combined photo shows stars who donated money for wildfire relief efforts. Clockwise from left, IU, Suzy, Park Bo-young and Han Ji-min. Yonhap

SEOUL, March 27 (AJP) - K-pop stars and other celebrities are extending their support to those affected by a spate of massive wildfires that have continued to devastate the southeastern part of the country since last Friday.

Versatile star IU made a generous donation of 200 million won (US$140,000), while singer-turned-actress Suzy gave 100 million won ($69,000).

Actresses Han Ji-min and Park Bo-young donated 50 million won ($37,000) each. Other fellow stars like Go Min-si, Go Youn-jung and Hyeri also offered their helping hands.

Donations are also pouring in from big businesses to help restore affected areas and support relief efforts with Samsung pledging 3 billion won ($2.1 million), Hyundai, LG, POSCO and SK providing 2 billion ($1.4 million) won each.

Meanwhile, firefighters and other rescue officials have been battling to contain the unprecedented wildfires spreading across Gyeongsang provinces for almost a week, killing at least 26 people and displacing tens of thousands as of Thursday.

Evelyn Nam evelyneyahh@ajupress.com

Stars rush to donate money for wildfire victims

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