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Posted by sl278836 pts Wednesday, June 26, 2019

88-year-old Korean war veteran makes netizens cry with his heartbreaking story of earning just $13 a day

Veterans have sacrificed the time in their youth to protect their country and government, but some of them struggle in old age without receiving any compensation for their service. 

A video featuring a Korean veteran has been slowly gaining traction for the heartbreaking story of the veteran featured in it. 

Park Rae Jung is an 88-year-old veteran who served in the Korean War. To make a living, he pulls a small cart filled with used boxes all day long. He works 11 hours a day in order to support his wife who cannot walk comfortably but only earns about 15,000 KRW (~13 US dollars) a day. He saves expenses by smoking discarded cigarette butts on the ground and eating 200 KRW (~17 US cents) meals for lunch. 

However, Park Rae Jung is positive and even says he's ok with his dinners which are instant noodles because he likes them. He also says that there are people who are even worse off than he is. When the YouTuber 진용진 gave him money (1 million KRW / $866) to help pay for his living expenses, Park Rae Jung stated, "I don't know if I should take it because I haven't done anything" and expressed a sorry heart for accepting the money.

Netizens have started a petition stating to improve the conditions of all veterans who have helped serve the country.

Check out the video below.  

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Siri123
Siri1237,087 pts Wednesday, June 26, 2019 13
Wednesday, June 26, 2019

I can't believe that an 88 year old has to still work to make a living. Doesn't S.K have pension? Not only war veterans but all old people should be able to live without having to work anymore. What kind of a shit is this?

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xHanaa
xHanaa254 pts Wednesday, June 26, 2019 1
Wednesday, June 26, 2019

i heard they have a lot of problems with the elderly living like this.. it's really unfortunate and hopefully more people become aware of it.

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