‘McDonald’s Grandma’ died in July

A homeless woman, known as “McDonald’s Grandma,” died in July, authorities said on Thursday. She was 73.

The Junggu Office said the woman named Gwon Ha-ja died at the New Hope Convalescent Hospital in Seoul on July 12. Her body was cremated as she had no family members.

Gwon was found collapsed near Seoul Station in May and transferred to the National Medical Center. It turned out that she was already struggling with terminal cancer.

The homeless woman received the peculiar nickname as she was frequently spotted staying up at 24-hour McDonald’s restaurants in central Seoul. She had frequented 24-hour coffee shops and fast food restaurants since 2005, dressed in a trench coat, with English newspapers in her hands.

Gwon graduated from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, majoring in French language and literature, and worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 15 years but ended up leading a homeless life.

By Im Woo-jung, Intern reporter
(iwj@heraldcorp.com)