BTS’ J-Hope donates ₩150million to charity on his birthday
BTS member J-Hope has donated a whooping ₩150million (roughly £100,000) to charity on his birthday (18 February).
The South Korean musician’s donation will go to ChildFund Korea in support of children with vision and hearing disabilities, according to The Korean Herald. However, this is not the first time J-Hope has shown support to ChildFund Korea – last year, he donated ₩100million to the charity in order to help children affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I heard that the number of families in vulnerable situations is increasing significantly due to the prolonged COVID-19 crisis, and support for disabled children is urgently needed,” J-Hope said in a statement to South Korean media, according to Newsen and translated by Koreaboo. “I hope this donation will further expand social interest in supporting children with disabilities.”
The rapper also donated ₩150million and ₩100million to ChildFund Korea in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The former was to support sick children, and the latter to help low-income students attending his former high school in Gwangju city. J-Hope was subsequently named a member of ChildFund Korea’s Green Noble Club for Children in February 2019, for individuals who have made significant donations to the charity.
ChildFund Korea chairman Lee Je-hoon has thanked J-Hope for his continued support and donations, noting that “his good influence is leading to increased inquiries in [donations] by both domestic and foreign ARMY”. He added, “ChildFund Korea will also do our best to support children from low-income families in accordance with the wishes of all our donors, including J-Hope.”
BTS are set to take over the iconic MTV Unplugged stage later this month. According to the cable network, the boyband will offer fans a “front-row seat to never-before-seen versions of the group’s most career-defining hits” when the programme airs on February 23.
American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha is also reportedly working on a demo for the boyband. She has described the in-progress track as “really bomb”, but also admitted that “it needs work though; it needs a lot of work”.