Actress Lee Young Ae, who soon returns to the small screen in the saeguk "Saimdang: The Herstory," has once again contributed to charity. As in the past, her efforts to keep her donations a secret were not successful.
According to the Korean media outlet Chosun Ilbo, the actress recently donated $50,000 to two soldiers who suffered serious injuries as a result of North Korean box mines. The soldiers sustained the injuries while they were patrolling the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.
Lee donated the money to a foundation run by the Korean Military Academy. She has made many similar donations that in the past and each time tried to avoid any publicity. But sooner or later, many of her charitable efforts were discovered and publicized. Some of her previous donations have helped young North Korean defectors adjust to their new lives in South Korea, prevented endangered schools from closing down, and paid for surgeries needed by a premature baby.
In 2015 The Chou Ta-guan Cultural and Educational Foundation, a Taiwanese non-profit organization, presented the actress with the Global Fervent Love of Lives Medal. She received the medal because in 2014 she donated almost $100,000 to help a Taiwanese woman who slipped while visiting Korea and went into premature labor. The woman's baby was born two months early and required two crucial surgeries shortly after birth. Lee not only donated the funds but also visited the hospital to check up on the mother and baby.
The "Jewel in the Palace" star is known to be one of the more charitable k-drama stars.
She has served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and contributed funds to schools and hospitals in Korea and China. After she helped one Chinese school that was on the verge of closing, it was renamed Lee Young Ae Elementary School.
The 2003 drama "Jewel in the Palace" was Lee Young Ae's last k-drama. After spending 12 years at home with her family, she returns to dramaland in "Saimdang." In that drama she will play two roles, a present-day art professor and the real-life Joseon-era artist Shin Saimdang. The professor discovers Shin's diary and unravels the secret of a mysterious portrait. Song Seung Hoon will co-star as her lifelong love and soulmate.
According to the American entertainment publication Variety, Turner International has already acquired the distribution rights to "Saimdang." "Jewel in the Palace" was exported to almost 100 countries and the company expects that "Saimdang" will do as well. Lee is one of the most internationally recognizable Korean actresses.
