Man with one lung donates land: The multiplying power of kindness

If you had only one lung as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread, would you give away resources you might need to protect your health?

If your income was about half the national average but you were supporting two adult children, one of them a twenty-six-year-old son with Down syndrome, would you make such a donation?

That’s what Kim Byung-rok has done in South Korea.

After surviving tuberculosis when he was a young man, he bought land on a small, quiet mountain in 2014 to breathe fresh air. But now, in response to the pandemic, he is donating a large part of his holdings to the local government, hoping the proceeds will be used to help those in need.

This is not all Mr. Kim is doing to serve others.

His job is polishing and mending shoes; for the past twenty-five years, he has fixed thousands of used or cast-off shoes and donated them to the poor. He also provides free haircuts to older people with dementia or other health problems.

His land gift is especially extraordinary. Authorities are
trying to make sure he will not face gift taxes, but Mr. Kim is adamant:
“If I have to pay that, I would accept that.”

Many are encouraging him to take care of his family first,
but Mr. Kim says, “I’ve never had my kids go hungry and I’ve been living
happily. . . . I’m satisfied with my life and can’t just ignore the poor and
needy.”

Mr. Kim has had a turbulent life: his father died when he
was six, and his stepfather beat and abused him. He ran away from home and
began working as a shoeshine boy at the age of ten. He drank and smoked
excessively, then contracted TB.

His illness drew him to his faith and to his volunteer service. He said at his Seoul shop, “I went through a rough childhood and I got help from others all the time. I’ve always thought I should one day become a person who helps others.” He added: “Wouldn’t it be good if I give the people strength and courage?”

The multiplying…