Korean actress commended for helping comatose Thai student
A South Koreaan actress with many Thai fans has been praised for her leading role in helping a comatose Thai student’s return home after three months in a South Korean hospital.
Lee Young-ae donated 10 million won (224,000 baht) from her own purse to support the repatriation of Ms Sirinya from South Korea to Thailand.
The Rhythm of Hope Volunteering Club, a student group at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, drove a campaign seeking donors to help fly the Thai student back home, where she could continue to receive medical treatment. Her parents cannot meet the large medical bill at the South Korean hosptial and her transport back to Thailand.
The student group set a donation target of 9 million won. When the actress learned of Ms Surinya’s situation she donated 10 million won. This drew added attention to the campaign and more contributors, and praise for the actress, the Korea Times reported on Sunday.
Ms Lee modestly thanked the students for their efforts in helping their Thai colleague. “I am actually more thankful that the students are doing such good work,” she said in a short message quoted by several South Korean media outlets.
Ms Sirinya, whose last name was withheld, attended the Language Education Institute at Chonnam National University. She was found unconscious in her dormitory in July and later was diagnosed with a subdural hemorrhage at the hospital. She remains in a coma.
The university has provided her family with accommodation and an interpreter during their stay in South Korea.
Ms Sirinya returned to Thailand on Saturday night on a Korean Air flight from Seoul. The airline arranged special seating and also carried her medical equipment, including oxygen tanks, on flight KE653.
Lee, 53, became famous among her Thai audience for her role in Dae Jang Geum: Jewel in the Palace, one of the first Korean series entering Thailand in 2003. She remains popular, with roles in several other series since then.
Source – Bangkok News
