Pokhara, 18 Sept. South Korean artist and writer Ku Hyun Kim has provided 5,000 kilograms of rice to flood victims in Uttargaya Rural Municipality of Rasuwa, who were severely affected by the devastating flood in the Bhotekoshi River on Bhadra 10.

The 80-year-old Korean citizen raised Rs. 500,000 in collaboration with 26 members of the Buddhist Academy, Buddhist Review and Cheongyang Travel School in South Korea before travelling to Nepal to provide the relief assistance.

With coordination from Parichaya Advertising and facilitation by Pokhara Metropolitan City, 200 sacks of high-quality rice, each weighing 25 kilograms, will be delivered to flood-affected families in Uttargaya, Rasuwa.

“We still remember the rice assistance Nepal provided to our ancestors during the difficult period of the Korean War 75 years ago. This contribution, raised by my friends by saving the money they would otherwise spend on coffee, is an expression of our gratitude to Nepal,” Kim said.

Kim, who has been travelling to and from Nepal on a visit visa for the past 11 years, considers Nepal his second home. He said that immediately after learning about the floods, he remembered his journey to Kailash Mansarovar through Rasuwa last year and became motivated to mobilize assistance for the affected communities.

Pokhara Metropolitan City Mayor Dhanraj Acharya expressed his heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to artist Kim and his team for travelling from South Korea to Nepal at the age of 80 and dedicating their time to supporting flood victims.

Mayor Acharya pledged to ensure that the relief materials are sent immediately to the flood victims in Uttargaya Rural Municipality, where relief assistance remains insufficient. Kim, in turn, expressed his gratitude to Mayor Acharya for providing an opportunity to support Nepali citizens affected by the floods during a difficult time.

Parichaya Advertising Managing Director Shobhit Basyal said that appreciating the compassionate spirit of individuals like Kim and coordinating to ensure that relief reaches the targeted beneficiaries is part of the organization’s social responsibility.

For Kim, who heard as a child the story of Nepal sending rice to South Korea on humanitarian grounds during the food crisis caused by the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, the assistance has become a living reflection of an emotional debt and gratitude dating back seven and a half decades.