Priest wins Magsaysay award

Priest wins Magsaysay award

MANILA (AFP): South Korean Catholic priest John Oh Woong-jin,
founder of a home for Korea's poor, disabled and elderly was
awarded this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service, the
award foundation announced yesterday.

Oh was cited for "arousing in modern Korea a compassion for
the poor by personifying the scriptural injunction to 'love thy
neighbor'," the foundation said.

Oh, a 50-year-old secular priest, founded and built Kkottongne
in 1983, a refuge for 3,000 orphans, abandoned children, the
disabled and elderly, using donations from 700,000 individuals
instead of big donors so that many could "experience the
happiness of helping others."

His 200-hectare complex in site is located at Ch'ungch'ongbuk-
do town, two hours' drive from Seoul.

Oh derived inspiration for his work from the experience of a
70-year-old man who begged food for others too weak to beg and
rescued the homeless from the cold, the citation said.

The priest will receive a US$50,000 cash prize and a medal,
along with four other awardees in other categories in ceremonies
on Aug. 31.