Seoul National University Hospital said Thursday it received 100,000 XRP tokens from individual donor Kim Geo-seok. The donation, made on March 26, is worth approximately 210 million won ($145,000) at current prices. It marks the hospital’s second cryptocurrency gift following a one-bitcoin donation Kim made last November.
Kim’s crypto philanthropy is part of a quiet revolution in how South Koreans donate.
From War Orphan to Investor
Kim was four years old when the 1950-53 Korean War tore his family apart. He was sent to an orphanage on Jeju Island, carrying scars from a partisan attack on his face. After returning to Seoul, he drifted through odd jobs to survive.
At 19, he climbed Namsan Tower — the Seoul landmark Netflix fans now know from KPop Demon Hunters — then the city’s highest point. He gazed at the glittering buildings below and vowed to own a home among them.
He taught himself investing through decades of reading financial newspapers cover to cover. Warren Buffett and Peter Lynch became his intellectual guides.
Success did not come in a straight line. A failed stock bet once cost him his house entirely. He took a job as a hotel security guard and spent five winters saving seed capital with frozen hands. Eventually, he rebuilt his portfolio and joined the ranks of successful individual investors.
In a May 2025 interview with Maeil Business Newspaper, Kim said spending money wisely matters more than earning it. He added that those who know how to give are the truly wealthy.
A New Way to Give
The 79-year-old retail investor has now given a cumulative 1.27 billion won to the hospital alone. Beyond the hospital, he has funded free clinics at Red Cross hospitals and given to the Community Chest of Korea.
Kim began high-value philanthropy in 2018 through the Community Chest of Korea. He became the first individual member of the Red Cross “Super High-Value Donors Club” last year. His total pledge to the Red Cross stands at one billion won, funding free clinics for uninsured workers and multicultural families.
When South Korea’s Financial Services Commission allowed nonprofits to liquidate crypto donations in mid-2025, Kim was among the first to act. His one-bitcoin gift to the Red Cross in August 2025 became the country’s first recorded individual crypto donation to a nonprofit.
Since then, he has repeated the gesture four times across two institutions. Both Seoul National University Hospital and the Red Cross convert his crypto gifts to fiat immediately via Upbit in accordance with internal guidelines.
‘I Hope This Becomes Ordinary’
At the March 9 ceremony for his latest Red Cross donation, Kim offered a simple wish. He said he hopes crypto-based giving becomes so common that it stops making headlines.
Hospital director Kim Young-tae called the donation a meaningful example of digital-asset philanthropy. He said the funds will support the hospital’s development fund and its children’s medical center.
Kim Geo-seok still dreams of becoming Korea’s greatest individual donor. At 79, the war orphan-turned-investor shows no sign of slowing down.
