BTS Suga donates 100 million won to forest fire victims on his 29th birthday
Rapper Suga (aka Min Yoongi) of BTS set an example for fans by donating to charity on the occasion of his 29th birthday. On March 9, it was reported that Suga started off his big day by donating a total of 100 million won, which converts to around $81,000, to help mitigate the damage caused by forest fires in the east coast of South Korea. This marks Suga’s new effort to help the needy whenever he can.
Suga took the opportunity to donate to the victims of the wildfire via South Korea's national disaster relief fund - The Hope Bridge. The rapper's generosity on his birthday has become a bit of a ritual by now. Back in 2020, Suga was in the news because of his 100 million won donations via the same charity association, The Hope Bridge, to aid efforts to stem the damage caused by the novel Coronavirus in its initial days. In 2019, he had donated 100 million won and 329 dolls in ARMY's name to the Korea Pediatric Cancer Foundation, to give back the love he has received from his fans.
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Suga sets an example for ARMYs with generous donation
Suga, who is going to headline the concert with the rest of BTS' members on March 10, has often inspired ARMY to donate to charitable causes as well. Other BTS members like Jimin, J-Hope and RM have also been in the news for their donations in the past. BTS members are set to take part in the ‘PTD on Stage in Seoul’ concert where members will meet South Korean fans for the first time in more than two years as well as international fans virtually for the first time after their three-month break.
As expected, Suga was lauded for his generous donation in his home country. ARMYs also donated to various charities in order to commemorate the ‘Daechwita’ singer’s birthday. BTS fans have also donated their concert ticket money to Ukraine when they were unable to buy tickets for the Seoul concert that will have only 15,000 attendees because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Other celebrities offer donations too
The Hope Bridge National Disaster Relief Association also received donations from other celebrities for the forest fire victims. Olympic athlete Kwak Yoon-ki donated 30 million won ($24k), while SM Entertainment’s executive producer donated 500 million won ($407k) to help the victims. Actors Jung Woo-sung and Lee Jung-jae and Kim Woo-bin each also donated 100 million won ($81k each). Soon-to-be married couple, actors Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin, donated 200 million won ($162k). Other than that, MBC ‘Tomorrow’ actress Kim Hee-sun also donated 100 million won through the Korean Red Cross Association and YouTuber FreeZia (Song Jia) donated 20 million won ($16k) to help the victims of the forest fire. About 550,000 citizens and celebrities, such as singers, actors, and sports players, have collectively helped via The Hope Bridge, raising 34.3 billion won ($27 million) in donations to help the victims of the forest fire.