Fans donate clothes in the name of Beast

World Vision announced on Jan. 9 that the official fan group of K-pop band Beast has donated 254 woolen hats and 200 jeogori (traditional Korean upper garments) to the world aid organization for distribution in Zambia.

“The woolen hats for infants were knitted by the members of the fan club from early November, and the upper garments were custom-made,” a World Vision representative said.

The fans, who are members of boy band’s Web site B-dong.com, decided to make the donations in the spirit of the band’s leader, Yoon Du-jun. Yoon travelled to Zambia in 2009 as part of a volunteer group that built a well for a village in the country.

The fan club also donated some 200 additional upper garments to newborns living in an orphanage in Seoul.

“We thought that although making monetary donations is a good deed, we wanted to do something and make a contribution with heart behind it,” the fans said in a letter to World Vision. “We hope that more people will get involved with volunteering overseas and that there will be greater awareness of the need for donations.”

By Carla Sunwoo [carlasunwoo@joongang.co.kr]