News that an elementary school teacher gave 150,000 won every month for seven years to the family of a student who lost his father is moving people.
According to the POSCO Education Foundation on the 14th, a teacher at Pohang Jecheol Jigok Elementary School under the foundation, identified as A, heard that a student, identified as B, then a fifth-grader in 2020, had suddenly lost his father.
After learning that B's mother, in her mid-50s, had overnight become the head of the household from a full-time homemaker and was moving from one temporary job to another, such as restaurant serving and sanitation work, A began giving B 150,000 won every month for seven years.
At the time, when B's mother demurred, A was quoted as saying, "I want to buy B even a meal or a piece of bread. Since I earn money, I want to keep sending it until B graduates from high school."
A had been B's homeroom teacher when B was in first grade, but was not B's homeroom teacher in 2020 when B's father died.
This story became known because B's mother obtained a stable job in March this year and sent a letter of thanks to the POSCO Education Foundation. She wrote in the letter, "Every night I looked at the ceiling with tears in my eyes, filled with gratitude for the teacher. You did what even close relatives could not do. I want to go to a bamboo grove and shout about Teacher A's love for students."
After learning of the story, the POSCO Education Foundation presented A with a chairperson's commendation and an award in celebration of Teachers Day. However, at A's request, the name and face were not disclosed. An official at the POSCO Education Foundation said, "This good deed is a warm miracle that lifted up a family and a model that deeply resonates with all educators."