Stars joining donation rush

By Chung Ah-young

Singers and actors are eagerly joining the ongoing donation rush to help Japanese victims hit hard by the recent devastating earthquakes.

Actors Lee Byeong-Heon donated 700 million won and Ahn Jae-wook gave 100 million won to the Korean Red Cross.

"Lee thinks life is the most important thing among others. He hopes his donation helps many Japanese victims suffering from the natural disaster", his agency BH Entertainment said.

"The natural disaster comes against human's will but the power to overcome it depends on our strength and will. I hope there are no more victims", Lee said in his homepage on March 13.

Lee gained huge popularity for numerous hit Korean television dramas such as "IRIS", "All In" and "Beautiful Days" and films such as "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra", "A Bittersweet Life" and "JSA - Joint Security Area".

Ahn said, "My heart hurt when I think of how the Japanese victims are still fearful of the dangers of aftershocks and explosions of the nuclear complex facilities amid the increasing death toll and those who are missing. I was thinking about how to help them and I decided to give a donation to the Korean Red Cross to practically provide assistance".

Ahn rose to stardom with "Star in my Heart" and then pursued a singing career releasing albums "Forever", "Memories", " Yesterday " and "Red in Ahn Jae-wook".

The Korean Red Cross has operated a taskforce consisting of 40 staff members to help the Japanese victims from March 15.

Meanwhile, popular boy band JYJ consisting of Jun-su, Kim Jae-joong and Micky Yoochun, former members of TVXQ, donated 600 million won to international relief agency World Vision. The donation will be used for the aid and reconstruction of the quake-stricken cities and to organize a shelter for child victims. The band will continue their relief efforts in the long term through world tour concerts to raise awareness of plight of Japanese victims. The band will operate the SNS site (www.facebook.com/jyjworldtourconcert) to share supportive messages and hold donation programs in cooperation with World Vision and its fans from various countries.