A senior citizen named Jang (90, female) who lives alone in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province eats her meals at a local soup kitchen. She always brings a stroller, and picks up all sorts of things on her way to the soup kitchen. (Image : Yonhap)
GOYANAG, Jan.28 (Korea Bizwire) – A senior citizen named Jang (90, female) who lives alone in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province eats her meals at a local soup kitchen. She always brings a stroller, and picks up all sorts of things on her way to the soup kitchen.
She doesn’t sell the things for money, nor collect certain items as a hobby. And she is definitely not picking objects up to help clean the streets.
Jang is a hoarder, someone who is obsessed with ‘things’, and feels uneasy when she doesn’t keep and store random paraphernalia.
All kinds of garbage is stored in the two small rooms and living room of Jang’s house. Because of the hoarding, she lives alone apart from her family, and relies on the 200,000 won basic pension provided every month.
Jang and her living environment were introduced to the public on October 2013 through a TV program.
After the program aired, district office employees and volunteer workers cleaned her home. A total of 100 tons of trash collected over the years was thrown out at the time.
Last week, the employees of the district office visited Jang’s home again. They wanted to clean her home before the Lunar New Year holiday.
However, they had to get permission from Jang first. After persuading her for days, they finally got a ‘yes’.
Employees from the district office, Red Cross and volunteer workers started cleaning Jan’s house on January 25. A total of 80 people worked for two days, clearing out 20 tons of garbage.
Jang’s house was filled with junk, leaving the tiny woman barely any space to lie down. Bugs and odor created an unsanitary environment, and the community health center had to disinfect the whole house.
Employees of the community center commented that they persuaded Jang with all their hearts, as they desperately wanted her to live in a better environment. They pledged to continue more community work to help those in need.
By Francine Jung (francine.jung@kobizmedia.co.kr)
