Koreans rush to help Philippines typhoon victims

Efforts to provide aid and monetary support to the Philippines are accelerating in Korea, with corporations, religious groups and high-profile influencers offering their support after Typhoon Haiyan struck earlier this month.

The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education is to hold a five-day “coin-collecting” campaign on Monday to help the survivors of the typhoon-ravaged Philippines, where the death toll continues to rise and relief supplies are running low.

Seoul City donated $200,000 to the country through the Red Cross. It plans to deliver another $100,000 and has started a nationwide campaign to collect 10 billion won ($9.3 million) for additional support.

Religious groups, such as the Archdiocese of Seoul and Won-Buddhism, are to hold special Mass offerings or fund-raising events.

Help is also coming from big-name politicians and athletes, including figure skating queen Kim Yu-na who donated $100,000 to survived children through the Korean Committee for UNICEF.

Veteran politician and billionaire Chung Mong-joon also joined the move, delivering $10,000 to the Philippine government through the Red Cross.

More organizations have apparently stepped up their efforts as rescue crews are collecting more bodies from the streets and burying them en masse. The death toll rose to around 3,637 as of Saturday.

“Help is not coming fast enough. Children are starving and people are getting sick in the typhoon’s ruins,” Chae Seung-hoon, a photographer who visited the scene last week, told The Korea Herald.

“Nothing is left whole in Tacloban, which saw the most damage. No house is left with a roof.“

Last week, the three major local broadcasting stations ― KBS, MBC and SBS ― aired fundraising programs. Presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing made her appearance on KBS’ charity show last Thursday and made a donation on behalf of President Park Geun-hye.

The National Election Commission also showed its support for victims of the Philippines’ worst disaster on record, offering $10,000 to the country.

Conglomerates have also joined the move, with the country’s second-largest retailer Homeplus on Thursday began donating 1 percent of banana, mango and pineapple sales. It will also offer a 30 percent discount on sales of all fruits imported from the Philippines, according to the officials.

On Nov. 8, super typhoons Haiyan slammed into the Philippines with gusts of wind reaching 379 km/h.

At least 12,487 were injured and 1,179 have gone missing, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

By Suk Gee-hyun (monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)